The Den of Fangs
by Vellichor29
Summary: Citizens of Little Rodentia have been disappearing at night, never to be seen again, alive or otherwise. The ZPD chooses their two smallest officers, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps to investigate the disappearances. What they discover shocks them to their very core, a secret that was never meant to be found, and a grudge that had been held for centuries… whatever will they do?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Genesis of Light:

Author's Note:

 **Ah, Zootopia… I went in expecting nothing and I was pleasantly surprised by how good the movie was. So good that the moment I got home I actually looked for fanfiction. And the movie was young, so there wasn't much… but I had never considered writing something myself. Until Dracologistmaster provided me with the opportunity to help write a fic of his, I had started to really think about writing a Zootopia fic of my own. And here we are, plot ready and an outline all set. We're ready for liftoff. So, to set up the story a bit, we're picking up a few months after Nick joins the force. He and Judy have been getting along splendidly (nothing particularly romantic) and the duo make up one of the most effective teams in the ZPD. And now it falls on them to figure out who is behind all the disappearances in Little Rodentia… please, enjoy.**

XXX

"A lunar eclipse… quite beautiful, don't you think?" a tired voice sounded in the darkness. Though the moon was gone, stars shone brightly in the sky, illuminating a small mammal laying on his back on a green hill.

Below him lay the hustle and bustle of a great city, light shining harshly in the darkness, dimming their ability to see the night sky. Which was why the mammal sat atop the hill, some ways away from the city. He wasn't quite far enough away to escape the sounds of the city, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to do such a thing.

The sounds were calming to him. They told a thousand stories all at once, if one had sharp enough ears to hear each tale that was told. Even if each song was a panicked cry into the night before it was replaced by a new sound, he could hear them all. A frantic worker trying to get home to spend what few free hours he had with his wife and kids. A woman on a date with a man she met at a bar, stepping into their apartment for what would surely be a night of passion. And a young boy, not even a few months old, falling asleep for what might be the last time, even if he couldn't comprehend such a notion.

He was at peace. He often needed a break from such a busy life, though he could never bring himself to go too far. It was a bond he was unwilling to sever. The mammal sat up in the soft grass, lab coat shifting underneath him. "I don't know why I bother speaking to you," he sighed.

New sounds hit his ears, and now he had his sight to back them up. How could sound alone make the city seem so beautiful, but the mere sight of the city reveal each and every dirty thief, shady corner, and backstreet dealer? How could something sound so magnificent, to rival nature itself, yet be so wretched at the same time? Sounds and sights of drug deals, murders, rapists… how did he miss these before?

He snorted to himself, he had changed the outcome by observing it. He laid back down, breaking his line of vision with the great city once more. And the violence and filth disappeared and was replaced with the typical hustle and bustle of a city. He would not make the decision of observing the city again.

But it was already too late for him, the sounds had been permanently tainted by his mistake. He could hear police sirens, gunshots, and the screams of victims as they fell to the ground, never to rise again. He groaned as he sat back up, drawing his legs up to his chest and resting his head on his knees, he was so far from peace now.

"It's not like you'd be able to respond," he muttered to himself as he observed the police cars parking around a single building. Dozens and dozens of officers piled out of their cars and walked up to the door. One officer held a piece of paper in her paws while the others carried mostly non-lethal weapons.

He observed through bleary eyes as the smallish officer rapped loudly on the building door, only to receive no response. Not that it mattered to the officer, she had a warrant. He turned away when the officers broke the door down and charged inside the building. His eyes shut tightly when he heard gunfire coming from the building, but he didn't dare turn towards it again.

He desperately tried to find something new to observe, but could find nothing void of atrocity. Crime ran rampant in the city, and only his keen hearing and eyes could see it. And only because he was now an outside observer. "Disgusting," he mumbled to himself.

It wasn't like he could do anything about it. The police focused on the big deals, drug busts, serial killers, missing mammals, they didn't have time for every snatched purse or lone drug dealer on a dimly lit street corner. One mammal alone couldn't make a difference, it wasn't like he was built for fighting crime.

"Perhaps it is because you never truly listen for me," a voice behind the mammal said, breaking the mammal's concentration. He whirled around, trying to find the speaker. Nothing, or so he thought. He squinted, trying to make out what he believed to be nothing more than a trick of his eyes. Two glowing orbs, hovering hardly a foot off the ground.

"Who's there?" he asked nervously. He risked a glance down by his side to see his faithful, silent companion gone. _Where did he go?_ He barely had time to wonder as the voice spoke again.

"I am. You should know… you brought me here." The mammal narrowed his eyes when he saw something hiding in the shadows, a shifting mass of darkness with two glowing emerald eyes. "Don't look so surprised, this is what you've always wanted, isn't it?"

The mammal gulped slightly, was he going insane? "What do you mean?" he asked the writhing shadow, receiving a hissing chuckle in reply. The mammal growled something incomprehensible, causing the chuckle to escalate into laughter, those emerald eyes never breaking eye contact with the mammal. Never blinking.

"Come now, doctor, we both know you have no one. Well, no one to talk to. They laugh at you and cast you out, that's why you're here, aren't you? This is where you go to get away," the being said with a slight lisp in its words.

"I don't have no one… I have you," the mammal said, spinning around to face the being.

"I hardly count as a friend. You're still alone," another hissing chuckle escaped the being's lips.

The mammal ground his teeth together in frustration. "Have you been able to speak this entire time?" he growled at the shadow.

"Of course."

"Then why wait so long to say anything? I took care of you and all your comrades when _no one else would_. Don't you think I deserve a bit of recognition? Even if it was just a single word of thanks, it would be enough," the mammal sighed.

"We needed to be sure you were the one. Our last caretaker… was not as kind as you are. Surely you can understand our hesitance to say anything," the being hissed.

"I… I guess I'll take that as a compliment. But that still doesn't explain the major scientific breakthroughs that can be made… now that I know you can talk," the mammal grinned as his eyes lit up with visions of a perfect future. Fame, fortune, recognition beyond his wildest dreams. And yet, here it sat before him.

"See, that's the mistake our last caretaker had made. We don't want to be noticed, we want to stay hidden," the being hissed angrily, voice deep with frustration. As if regretting its decision.

"Why? Wouldn't you rather be free of those cages forever?" the mammal pondered aloud. Is this why the caged bird sings? Because it knows it can never be free.

"That comes later… we want you to do something else for us," the being explained, moving from the darkness, though its emerald eyes never stopped glowing. The mammal watched the shadow move passed him and stop on the edge of the hill.

The mammal scooted so that he now sat next to the being, looking down on the city. He could see the officers that had breached the building dragging out a dozen or so criminals, hundreds of pounds of drugs, and millions of dollars in cash. He watched the criminals being stuffed into a large van, the smallish officer shutting the door on their fates and tapping the side of the vehicle, ordering it to drive the offenders to the prison.

"This world is rotting, my dear doctor," came the soft hiss from the being. It seemed so disappointed with the state of things, quite the opposite of what the mammal would've thought. "The empire of mammals will fall, just as _theirs_ did, and soon, our time to rise will come. For now, we must patiently lay low."

"Then why risk yourself by telling me? Aren't you blowing your cover?" the mammal asked. He didn't plan to betray the being, but the being couldn't be sure of that… could it? He turned back to the officers celebrating their big bust, slapping paws together and congratulating the smallish officer on her performance.

"We need you for something important," the being hissed. The mammal raised an eyebrow as he heard the being shift. He turned to see if the being had left him behind, but was met with the nightmare's face in his own.

The nightmare's eyes were vivid and mesmerizing, drawing him in and forcing him to lock eyes with that eternal emerald stare. "What is it that you need?" the mammal asked slowly, not even flinching when the being pressed its face harder against his own.

Not a hint of emotion was betrayed by those eyes as it sucked the mammal in deeper. "Feed us," it hissed.

XXX

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of her alarm. She blinked rapidly as sunlight shone through the window, casting light into her little apartment. She sat up and stretched, putting a smile on her face, setting her mood for the day.

They had told her that she could take the day off if she wanted, but she didn't want to take the day off. That would leave her partner alone in the precinct, and she knew she couldn't do that to him. Plus, she wanted to be there to hand in her report personally. And praise from the chief was never a bad thing.

She went about readying herself for the day, showering and getting dressed. She knew that she could've upgraded to a larger apartment in a better part of town, but the little shoebox of a room had grown on her. So, she decided to stay at least until the end of the year.

She slipped on the chest plate of her armor over her head and attached the badge to it, polishing it with the back of her paw. It gleamed in the sunlight, casting a bright spot onto the dark wall. She grinned and headed towards the door, but halted after she opened it.

She had nearly forgotten, causing her to let out a deep sigh. It was the one part of the job she didn't like. She shut the door to her apartment and walked slowly over to her desk, spotting the object she had nearly left without. A gun lay, not quite forgotten, inside of its holster on the wooden desk.

She gripped the weapon through the holster, hesitating before snapping it to her belt. She didn't want to admit that things had gotten so bad that she needed to carry one around. While many of the officers were large enough that they could get away with hand-to-hand combat or batons, she was too small to be considered effective without a ranged weapon of some sort. Although a few of the officers carried Tasers or tranq guns, she and her partner were the only officers on the force who carried live ammo.

And she hated it. She hated having to carry the weapon. She hated having to put in hours at a shooting range every month. She hated seeing that _fear_ go through her target's eyes as they realized that she carried a _real_ weapon. The Glock-22R, made for rabbits, by rabbits. Although it would be less than effective against something as thick-skinned as an elephant or rhino, it could put down even large tigers and wolves.

She hated that she loved the power by her side. Most officers were forbidden from carrying guns because they could be taken and used by nearly any criminal or ne'er-do-well they would come across. But her weapon could only be used by rabbits, and, though she hated to say this, there just weren't any rabbit criminals.

She hated that it was the weapon by her side that made her an effective officer. Without it, she would be limited to criminals smaller than foxes. Though she was fast and smart, and she was never without her partner, she just couldn't deal with the typical foe. But the moment she drew the gun, it was over. No animal was stupid enough to try and outrun a speeding bullet. She was at least thankful she never had to shoot anyone… but she wasn't sure what would happen after she was forced to.

She took a deep breath and put on another smile, though this one noticeably more forced than the last. She stepped out of her apartment and made her way to the precinct. The one plus of her apartment was the close proximity to the precinct. So much so that she could just walk to the building. She never needed a car of her own.

That reluctant smile on her face widened immediately as she laid eyes on the precinct. The building was as huge as it was beautiful. She hopped up the steps and entered the building, glancing around as she did, looking for her partner. She let out a sigh, but it didn't diminish her chipper attitude.

She made her way over to the front desk, intent on striking up a conversation with the man sitting behind it as she waited for her partner to stroll through the doors. Late, as always. "Good morning, Clawhauser," she said, stretching out the word 'good.'

The cheetah in question looked over his desk at the small rabbit, shoving a donut in his mouth as he did. "Good morning, officer Hopps!" he said, spraying crumbs as he spoke. She gave him a deadpan look, brushing the crumbs off her, causing him to cover his mouth. He swallowed loudly, "Sorry."

Her ears stood tall as she shot him a kind smile, "No worries." It wasn't the first, nor would it be the last, time he had sprayed her with crumbs. It was kind of… endearing, she believed. The chubby receptionist was her first friend at the precinct, and she would never complain about his messy eating habits.

"What do you think, late as usual or early?" Clawhauser questioned with a smile, the tip of his tail flicking excitedly. "Five bucks says today is the day he comes in early."

"My money is on late as always," Judy said with a knowing smile. The day that fox came in early was the day chief Bogo was in a good mood, for once. The two stared intently at the door, waiting to see who would walk through. It had become a daily ritual for the two of them the moment they realized Nick had never once been on time. Judy had never lost the bet.

Her ears pricked when she heard another loud swallow and a groan. She rolled her eyes, Clawhauser had ran out of donuts. "Hey, Judy," she heard Clawhauser say, causing her to tear her eyes away from the door and look up at him.

"Yes?" she asked, glancing back at the door, but only for a moment. There was still five minutes until she needed to be in the Bullpen. She usually spent that time waiting for Nick to see if he'd actually show up, though he never did.

"Why'd you come in today? Don't you have the day off?" he asked, rummaging around inside of the desk he sat at. He didn't bother to look, he knew the contents of the desk by heart. He pulled out a bottle of soda and popped the top before procuring a straw to suck down the sugary liquid.

"You mean they _gave_ me the day off, doesn't mean I have to take it. Besides, you know I'd rather be here than at home," she sighed. Clawhauser giggled something incomprehensible, though Judy swore she heard the word Nick in his mumbling. She glared at him, causing him to slap his paws over his mouth.

She didn't need to be a detective to figure out Clawhauser had made a passing comment towards her partner. It was no secret the rabbit and fox combo was an odd choice, even if they did turn out to be one of the most effective duos in the force. The fact the two of them were inseparable gave rise to dozens of different rumors, ones that, if turned out to be true, could get both of them in a lot of trouble.

That didn't stop Clawhauser from spreading them. They were untrue, of course, but the cheetah could dream. "Why do you have to be scary all the time?" Clawhauser whined, refusing to move his paws from his mouth.

She smirked, her "death glare," as Nick called it, could strike fear in the hearts of even the toughest mammals. Usually. Nick had grown used to it, though he sometimes pretended to be afraid. She could see right through him, however, but never said anything. In truth, she loved the power, even more than the weapon by her side brought.

"Because you won't stop with me and Nick," she sighed. She rolled her eyes again when he let out another bout of giggling. He was incurable. She turned back to the doors just in time to see it open, but it wasn't her partner walking through the doors.

She shook her head, his time was up. She waved goodbye to Clawhauser and headed towards the Bullpen. The other officers had long since stopped glaring at her whenever she entered the room, instead completely ignoring her presence. In truth, she often wished for just a glance of contempt, something was still better than nothing, she quickly learned.

She wasn't special. She was a good cop, yes, a damn good cop, but she was only one bunny. That arrogant, prideful side of her demanded the other cops to praise her, pay attention to her, recognize her in any way because of her achievements. But they would do no such thing. To them, she just… was. Nothing more. Nothing less.

At least she had her partner, Nick. While separately they were outcasts among the other officers, at least they had each other. _Speaking of Nick… where is that fox?_ Judy wondered quietly as she shifted in her seat.

Bogo had arrived and started making his daily announcements, but there was no sign of the fox. He was usually here by now. She felt so exposed without him by her side, as the two of them were small enough to share an entire seat. _Did something happen to him?_ She let out a deep breath, trying to stay calm. He was just later than usual, he was fine. Clawhauser should owe her double for this.

She began to panic as Bogo handed out assignments. She desperately glanced around the room, hoping that he was leaning against one of the walls, just trying to set her off. But she could not find him. Her ears flattened against her head as she bit her lip, foot tapping wildly against her will. She was so distracted, she didn't notice she was the last one in the room, besides Bogo.

"Hopps!" the chief's commanding voice broke her out of her panicked state. She locked eyes with him, her nose twitching ever so slightly in annoyance. Nick was not here. He let out a tired sigh when he realized he had her attention, "You were supposed to take the day off, Hopps."

She didn't answer him verbally, only shaking her head a resounding no. She had never taken a day off, and she didn't plan to take one any time in the future. "Well, since you're here, we got a report earlier this morning about a missing mammal in Little Rodentia. I was going to give it to you in a few days, because technically we can't call him missing until forty-eight hours have passed, and you were supposed to take today off, but here you are, so here you go," Bogo said as he walked to the table she sat at, and placed a file down in front of her.

"At the very least, I want you to gather some preliminary information while we wait for the forty-eight-hour mark to pass. Then we can launch a full investigation," he explained, walking away from her.

"Wait! Sir," Judy called out before he disappeared through the door. He looked over his shoulder with a grunt of annoyance, but she continued with her question nevertheless, "Where is officer Wilde?"

"He seems to think that the day off I offered you extended to him as well. Drag his ass out of bed and put him to work, will you?" he ordered, leaving the room.

"Yes sir," she mumbled. Why did Nick take the day off? Surely he knew that she would never do such a thing. _Still… I hope he's all right._

XXX

Nick didn't live too far away from the precinct, she could've walked if she wanted to. However, she would be going straight to work after she picked him up, so it was more convenient to drive the police car. Traffic was always atrocious this early in the morning, slowing her down. She almost considered flashing her sirens to get her through the jam.

 _That would be abusing my authority,_ she immediately told herself, causing her to move her hand away from the button that activated the sirens. She would just have to be patient and wait out the traffic. She heard someone honking loudly behind her, but she refrained from turning around and yelling at the driver.

She let out a sigh as she eventually fought her way through traffic and pulled up in front of Nick's apartment. She pulled the key out of the ignition and leaned back in her seat. She had wasted nearly an hour trying to get to Nick. Perhaps it would've been better to walk to his apartment and walk back to the precinct to get the car… even if it did seem redundant.

She made it into the apartment complex before realizing she had never actually been in Nick's new apartment. She had been in his old apartment, which was even worse than hers. Old and ratty, wallpaper tearing from the edges, and mystery stains on the floor. She knew that he had moved only a week ago to the new apartment, which had the added bonus of being closer to the precinct. His old apartment had been miles away, but this one was only a few blocks. Not that it made any difference in traffic.

He had invited her several times, but she had always been too busy to visit. She walked up to the door and buzzed for Nick's room. Hopefully Nick would be awake and she wouldn't actually have to go up to his room. That would only give the rumors some truth… and Clawhauser would have a fit when he found out.

She waited a full minute before letting out a sigh. Nick must be asleep. _At least he better be asleep,_ she growled under her breath as she buzzed the room next to Nick's. "What?" a voice growled over the system.

She took a deep breath, briefly considering if this was a breach of her authority, but decided that Bogo had ordered her to bring Nick in for work. By any means necessary. "This is officer Judy Hopps, I need to be let into the building," she said stiffly.

It was silent for a moment before the voice finally said, "You're about six hours too late, officer."

She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"My noise complaints, you're about six hours too late to arrest my loud ass neighbor. That's what you're here to do right? Drag that damn lion out of his apartment and get him to shut the hell up! I mean… three in the morning is outrageous!" the voice growled loudly.

"Uh… I don't know anything about a noise complaint, I'm here for your other neighbor," she explained. _Though maybe I could have a word with his neighbor, three in the morning is a bit too much…_ she promised herself.

"Oh," the voice trailed off, realizing that he had made a wrong assumption. "What did he do?"

"Dodging work, I'm afraid," she grinned.

"Oh, damn," the voice muttered before she heard the tell-tale click of the front door being unlocked. She opened the door and made her way through the lobby, drawing stares as she went. She ignored them, she was used to the stares.

She stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for Nick's floor. She silently repeated to herself Nick's room number, that way she didn't embarrass herself by knocking on the wrong door. Or get his neighbors unnecessarily worried about him.

She marched straight over to his door the moment she stepped off the elevator. "Hey… isn't Nick a cop too?" a voice drew her attention to the door to her left. She saw a raccoon leaning on his doorway, chewing on a straw.

"And he doesn't have the day off," she snorted, rapping loudly on Nick's door. It was silent for a few minutes as they waited to see if Nick would answer his door. Nothing. She growled something and knocked louder, shouting, "Nick!" as she did.

Still nothing. She let out a sigh as the raccoon to her left chuckled. "Yeah, I didn't think so, hold on a moment… I've got a spare key," he disappeared into his apartment, leaving Judy alone outside of Nick's room.

He reappeared not a minute later, key in hand. "Are you sure Nick would want you using that key to let someone into his apartment?" she asked. She wasn't used to people being cooperative, or even remotely helpful, during investigations.

The raccoon snorted, "Your Judy Hopps, right?" She nodded slowly, unsure of what point he was trying to make. "Nick talks about you all the time. You're his partner, aren't you?"

She nodded, before pausing, "For work, yes." She didn't want the raccoon to get the wrong idea.

The raccoon in question raised an eyebrow as he unlocked Nick's door. "You get that a lot?" he asked.

She sucked in a deep breath before letting it out in a loud sigh, "You have no idea." The lock clicked and she pushed the door open, but halted when she heard the raccoon clear his throat loudly.

"I'm sorry… but do you think you could still have a word with my other neighbor? He's just… way too loud too late in the night," he smiled weakly, rubbing his tired eyes.

Judy thought for a moment before pulling out her notebook and wrote her work number on the paper. She tore it off the rest of the book and handed it to the raccoon, "Call me the next time he's being a bit too loud and I'll see what I can do."

He grinned and thanked her before walking back into his room, shutting the door behind him. _Oh… now he's going to wake_ _me_ _up at three in the morning,_ she realized. But she shrugged it off. She was willing to sacrifice her sleep if it meant she could help someone.

She walked into Nick's apartment expecting the worst. Although she was doubtful he was entirely responsible for the reprehensible state of his previous abode, she was surprised to see how clean the apartment was. _I can actually see the floor…_

And it _was_ a nice place. Unlike hers, which only had two rooms, a bedroom and a bathroom, Nick's apartment had a living room and a small kitchen area. As she marveled at the size of the apartment, a scent reached her nose, causing it to wrinkle in disgust. She made her way through Nick's living room, trying to figure out where that awful smell was coming from.

That's when she found him, lying on his couch, completely knocked out. She rolled her eyes when she noticed that he still had his television on. As she reached for the remote on the side table she noticed the cigarette sitting, still smoking, in an ash tray. Her eye twitched as she shut the television off.

"Nick," she said, nudging him. He only mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'not now, sex bunny' before turning over in his sleep so that his face was pressed into the back of the couch. She let out an exasperated sigh before saying louder, "Nick!"

He let out a groan, shifting and stretching out. She sucked in a deep breath, planning on shouting even louder, but he beat her to the punch, "Shrill, piercing, and annoying… carrots?" He didn't move from his laying position, nor did he turn to look at her. His voice was muffled from pressing his face against the back of the couch.

"Yeah, it's carrots," Judy sighed, not even bothering to argue with him. "We have a job to do, so get your butt moving! And since when do you smoke?" she tacked on at the end.

He didn't move. "Only after a long night. And we don't have a job to do, we have the day off," he groaned, curling tighter into himself.

" _I_ have the day off, and I'm not taking it, you and I still have a job to do," she sighed. Bogo was right, Nick did think the offer had extended to him as well. "There's a missing mammal in Little Rodentia and we need to get down there for some preliminary interviews."

Nick let out another moan before saying, "Go without me… I'm sick."

"Or hungover," she growled, looking over at his coffee table to see bottles of alcohol strewn about the glass table. _I suppose he has a right to celebrate, especially after that big bust last night,_ she reasoned.

She didn't smoke because she found the smell to be intolerable, and she never _wanted_ to get used to it. She didn't drink because, as a rabbit, she couldn't hold her liquor. It was safer for everyone if the light-weight rabbit didn't drink especially with _a gun at her hip_.

"…Most likely," came the hesitant reply. _At least he admits it,_ she growled to herself. But she wouldn't just let him sit here and rot on his couch. They had a job to do.

"Officer Nick Wilde, I'm going to give you ten minutes to shower, get in uniform, and meet me in the lobby. Do I make myself clear?" she said sternly. It was her "authoritative" tone that was usually reserved for suspects and witnesses… and the occasional neighbor to let her into her partner's building.

"Oh, come on… let me take a sick day," he groaned, rolling over to face her. His bleary eyes shot her a pleading glance, one that she found difficult to ignore. But she remained strong.

"Do I make myself clear?" she asked again. It wasn't often she pulled seniority over her partner, but he would keep complaining unless she did.

"Yes carrots…" he trailed off. He pushed himself off the couch, pushing the blanket off his form, revealing he was only wearing boxers. She nodded and marched towards the exit of his apartment.

"Ten minutes, Nick," she reminded him before shutting the door behind her. He let out a loud groan before setting about preparing for the day. He considered skipping the shower, she _did_ only give him ten minutes, but one whiff of his cigarette-infused fur changed his mind quickly.

XXX

 **And there we go! First chapter done. Ah, I'm really excited about this story. It's turning out great… in my head. There's still the writing it all down part that I have to do. I would like to thank Dracologistmaster for inspiring me, and helping along the way. In any case, stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Unknown:

Author's Note:

 **Sigh… I'm not sure if I should be proud or upset that several of you already figured out what species the main villain is. On the one hand, it means that the hints I gave in the first chapter were really good… on the other, it might ruin a bit of the story. Oh well, what's done is done. We're diving right into our next chapter, so please, enjoy!**

XXX

Judy made her way into the lobby of Nick's apartment building. The lobby was quite large compared to her own building's, but then again, it also housed larger animals. She took a seat across from the receptionist's desk on a bench. From the bench, she could see everyone who came through the lobby, be it from the front doors or off the elevator. She spent her time waiting for Nick by watching the animals that passed her by, not that there was anything else to do.

A clock hung above the receptionist's desk, ticking loudly in the mostly silent lobby. The only other sounds were the occasional tapping of the goat receptionist's keyboard as she typed and the quiet shuffle of the animals as they passed through the lobby. The clock helped her keep track of how much time Nick had left. Seven minutes, though she was off by at least the few seconds it took for her to get into the lobby.

The silence of the lobby was broken when the receptionist's phone ringed. Judy yawned loudly and leaned back against the wall as the goat picked up the phone after the third ring. She balanced the phone against her shoulder as she continued typing at her computer, her voice low. Judy sighed as she glanced at the clock once again. Only a minute had passed.

 _Maybe ten minutes was a bit harsh,_ she thought. She couldn't realistically expect Nick to shower, dress, and groom himself in that small period of time. Then again, she couldn't be lenient with him either. She couldn't go back on herself now, if he got down here in over ten minutes she would have to be angry. Even if it was impossible for him to move any faster. She knew Nick, and he would take advantage of every bit of leniency she would give him.

 _He's such a child,_ she sighed to herself as she heard the elevator open. She raised an eyebrow and glanced at the clock. Five minutes left. She wrinkled her nose, if he managed to reach her in five minutes, he must've not taken a shower. She could imagine sitting in the police cruiser with his tobacco infused fur. She groaned from the mere thought.

But it wasn't Nick who stepped off the elevator. In fact, she wasn't sure _what_ had stepped off the elevator. She had never seen a mammal that looked like it did. It was tall, at least six feet tall, with dark gray fur and rounded ears. The mammal's dress was equally as interesting as how it looked.

It wore a black trench coat and sported a military-grade flak jacket. Why a mammal needed a flak jacket was beyond her. She watched as the mammal walked passed her, allowing her to see that the jacket had a scale-like pattern. Then she noticed the two silver Berettas that hung by its waist, causing her to gulp. _How did someone outside of the ZPD get their hands on live guns?_ she wondered as the mammal walked by her. A white skull had been painted on the back of its trench coat.

The mammal collapsed on the bench next to hers, leaning back so its head hit the wall. It let out a deep sigh as it closed its eyes and rubbed its temples. Judy was hesitant to place the mammal's gender, as she had _never_ seen an animal that looked like it. It almost looked like some sort of dog-bear hybrid. Her mind wandered off as she stared at the mammal, wondering what _that_ relationship would look like.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly missed the mammal halting its rubbing. She watched as its eyes snapped open and lowered its paw. Judy's eyes widened as it turned to look at her with bright yellow eyes, three strands of hair hanging down over its face. The two stared at each other for several minutes, yellow into her purple, before the mammal started to move its left hand towards its weapon.

Judy's breathing increased as she followed the action, reaching for her gun, though not drawing it, only placing her paw on the handle. The mammal's eyes betrayed no hostility, in fact, it just seemed curious. Judy relaxed only slightly when the mammal reached into its pocket instead of for the Barretta by its side. It pulled a packet of cigarettes from the pocket.

Judy watched, eyes narrowed, as the mammal slipped a cigarette into its mouth and undid one of the many flaps on its flak jacket, pulling a lighter from within. All the while, never breaking eye contact with her. It lit the cigarette and took a deep breath, before blowing smoke in Judy's direction.

She turned away to cough, but when she looked back, the mammal had looked away. Judy couldn't help but continuing to stare at the mysterious mammal, racking her mind to come up with its species. It took another drag on its cigarette before the receptionist looked up and glared at it, "Sir, you can't smoke in here."

The mammal returned the glare and stood. The goat behind the desk gulped when she spotted the two guns at its hips, Judy unconsciously moving towards her own weapon again. She just didn't trust the mysterious animal, but technically, bearing arms was not illegal. The goat licked her lips as the possible hybrid waltzed over to the desk, blowing smoke from its nose. "They aren't for you, sunshine," the mammal smirked, allowing Judy to place its gender. Female.

The mammal sauntered out of the lobby, the white skull on her back taunting Judy. She had half a mind to follow the retreating mammal and at least ask what she was. But the elevator dinged again, drawing her attention to the fox rushing into the lobby. She glanced up at the clock to see that he was two minutes late.

He skidded to a halt in front of her, mock saluting her as she stood from the bench, a glare gracing her face. He gulped when she placed her hands on her hips. "At ease," she grinned as he dropped his salute. "Do you happen to know how long you took?"

She watched water droplets drip from his still wet fur as he panted hard. "Ten minutes?" he asked with a hopeful grin. He rubbed the back of his neck as she shook her head.

"Try twelve minutes," she sighed, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

He chuckled, "Uh, you set unreasonable expectations for me, knowing I'll fail because you get off on it?" She narrowed her eyes at him as he quickly changed his mind. "I mean, you set high goals, pushing me to succeed, because when I do, it makes you look good."

She rolled her eyes and tapped her foot, hardening her glare. He shrugged his shoulders in response, "What do you want me to say?"

"Are you awake?" she asked, halting her tapping, crossing her arms.

"Absolutely."

"Good," she said. She smirked when his jaw dropped open, it was that simple. "Come on, dumb fox, we have a job to do and we've already wasted time." She turned on her heel, walking out of the lobby. Nick was hot on her tail as they pushed passed the doors to his building.

She halted a few feet from the entrance to the building, looking to her left and to her right. It had only been a minute; the mysterious mammal couldn't have gotten far. And there wasn't much of a crowd, but she couldn't see the strange animal anywhere. Nick nearly bumped into her, stopping just before he did. "Something wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No… nothing at all." He shrugged it off as he followed her once again to the cruiser. "I'm driving," she grinned when she saw the expression that graced his features.

"What? I thought I got to drive on Thursdays!" he complained as she climbed into the driver's seat. He stood in front of the car, crossing his arms, and refusing to get in until she explained herself.

"I'm not the one that had to be woken up and given a time limit to get ready!" she leaned out the open window, calling out as she did. He glared at her, but reluctantly opened the passenger's door and boarded the cruiser. He buckled his seatbelt, continuing to glare at her smug expression as he did. "Oh, you're such a child!" she chuckled, brushing off his sour expression.

He let out a loud sigh, not even bothering to contest her statement. "So, what's our case today?"

She started the car and pulled out of the space in front of the building. "You're sitting on it," she smirked. She headed towards Little Rodentia as Nick shifted in his seat to get the folder underneath his tail. He flipped through the file briefly before his eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"A missing mammal case?" he asked. She nodded, not taking her eyes off the road. He let out a sigh before closing the file. The file itself was mostly empty, only containing the message from the rodent who made the call early in the morning. Their job was to complete the file so, after the forty-eight hours passed, the investigation could swing into high-gear immediately. _Still, Little Rodentia… I hate having to watch where I step,_ Nick groaned internally.

XXX

Little Rodentia was a walled community, making it very difficult for anything larger than a gerbil to make it into the small city. Though Judy could make it through the entrance, Nick had no way of getting in. The walls didn't just open up. So he was forced to resort to climbing the walls of the city.

He received several questioning glares, but he only flashed his badge and moved on. It wasn't his fault they made it purposefully difficult for police to get into the city. But he understood that Little Rodentia had one of the lowest crime rates in all of Zootopia, it seemed as if the walls were successful in keeping the crime out.

Except for the missing mammal case they were currently working on. Judy made her way through the city, Nick following close behind her, watching where she stepped. "I'm sorry!" Nick called out as a rodent threw itself out of the way of his feet. She sent him a glare, to which he only shrugged. There wasn't much he could do.

"I feel like Godzilla," he chuckled as he stepped carefully around an apartment complex. Even the slightest nudge could knock the building over. She only rolled her eyes and kept moving. Only the tallest buildings were taller than her, however Nick was taller than even the tallest buildings in the city.

As Judy made her way through the city, she came to a disappointing realization. She, and the rest of the ZPD by extension, was grossly unqualified to handle crimes within Little Rodentia. She was unable to enter any of the buildings, and if this turns out to be a murder, then she'd have to rely on descriptions by those she would consider unqualified, which would turn into hearsay at best.

 _Does Little Rodentia have its own police force?_ she wondered to herself. She immediately abandoned it, however. If the city did have its own police force, then the ZPD wouldn't have been called in so quickly. _Perhaps I'll make a recommendation after this case is solved._

Though she did wonder why Little Rodentia _didn't_ have a police force. Could it simply be that, because crime was nearly non-existent, they did not have the need for a police force? If that was the case, would starting a police force cause an increase in crime? She stopped in her tracks, _Is that why crime is so bad in Zootopia?_ she wondered, _because the ZPD incites it?_

Nick, who was watching his feet instead of in front of him, rammed into her, knocking her down. _No, that isn't it. The ZPD exists_ _because_ _there is crime,_ she concluded as she pushed herself off the ground. She brushed herself off and turned to see Nick giving her a concerned look.

"What's wrong with you today, Carrots? That's the second time you've stopped in front of me, are you trying to get yourself knocked over?" he asked, though lacking the snarky tone he usually carried while speaking to her.

She shook her head, "No, I was just… thinking."

He smirked, "Always breaking those stereotypes, aren't you?" She snorted, her upper lip twitching into a small smirk as she turned around.

"The apartment is just over there," she said, pointing towards a red brick building. Tubes sprung out from the sides of the building, leading deeper into the city. It was surrounded by similar apartment buildings, but it was the only one with pure red bricks. It was also the tallest of the surrounding buildings, a whole two stories taller than the buildings around it.

"Which apartment number is it?" Judy asked. She looked behind her to see Nick shrug. "Where's the file?"

"Oh… I was supposed to bring that?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

She let out an exasperated sigh and slapped a hand to her forehead, "Of course you were supposed to bring the file. Now we're going to have to go _all the way back to the cruiser_."

"Excuse me!" a small, high pitched voice drew their attention down to the ground. A small, female, gray mouse stared up at the two larger mammals from her spot by the door to the apartment building. "Are you from the ZPD?"

The two officers glanced at each other, nearly forgetting themselves, before Judy answered, "Yes, we're ZPD, officers Hopps and Wilde. Are you the one who made the call about a missing mammal?" She leaned down so she could better hear the tiny rodent.

The mouse sniffed, "Yes, I'm Mrs. Mus, Rodney Mus' wife."

Judy nodded and pulled out her carrot pen, motioning to Nick as she did. "Here, you talk to her, I'm going to get a look at the possible crime scene," she commanded, handing the pen to Nick. Nick rolled his eyes and dropped to his knees so that he was closer to the mouse, clicking the pen so that it would start recording.

"We live on the fourth story, third window from the right," Mrs. Mus explained. Judy nodded and stepped closer to the building, bending down slightly so she could see into the room. The apartment looked very similar to Nick's, a living room kitchen combo with a bedroom and a bathroom extending off of it.

"I don't know how to explain it," Mrs. Mus started, "Rodney came home late from work like he always did. I made dinner for the two of us and we watched TV for a few hours before heading off to bed."

Nick nodded along as she explained what happened, he had placed the carrot pen down next to her so it could better pick up her voice. Judy herself pulled out her notebook and a spare pen, a regular, non-recording pen, and started to take notes about the apartment.

"He woke up in the middle of the night, three or four AM, I don't remember exactly," Mrs. Mus continued. She sniffed again and she placed her tiny paws together as she spoke. "He said that he was going for a walk, he left, and never came back!" Tears dripped from her eyes, but to her credit, she didn't start wailing.

Judy sighed, there were no signs of break-in or foul play, Rodney had just left, locking the door behind him. "Right, I just have a few questions about Rodney Mus that may help with our future investigation," Nick said, putting a comforting smile on his face.

The mouse sniffed again, "Future investigation?" she asked.

Judy, not looking away from the apartment, answered honestly, "Technically we can't start searching for him until forty-eight hours have passed."

Nick noticed the worried expression on the mouse's face and attempted to calm her down before she began to panic. "Don't worry, ma'am, we're just following protocol. We just need to be sure he didn't just get lost or black-out drunk somewhere," he said.

She shook her head, "My Rodney knows this city like the back of his paw! And he would never consume enough alcohol to pass out, he always stays well below his limits!" Nick and Judy exchanged glances, this woman was dead set on her husband being missing or worse. There was no way to comfort her.

"What does your husband do for a living? And when does he start working? He may have just headed straight to work without coming back home," Nick tried.

"He works at one of the major banks here in Little Rodentia and his shift doesn't start until a few hours from now. There's no way he would just be wandering around the city until it was time for his shift, it doesn't make any sense," she said.

Nick nodded along with her explanation. Though he doubted that any sane mammal would wander around the city directly before heading off to work, he didn't want to count that out as a possibility. "Is there anyone you can think of that might want to hurt your husband?" he asked.

She shook her head rapidly, "No one's like that here. I can't think of anyone who'd want to hurt anyone here!"

Nick rubbed his muzzle thoughtfully, "So what exactly do _you_ think happened to your husband?" It wasn't a question that they usually had to rely on, but they were running out of options.

"I don't know!" she sobbed, finally breaking down. "I called the ZPD because I don't know. Isn't your job to find him?" Nick inhaled sharply, he hadn't expected her to break down like that. He looked over to Judy for some help, only to see that she wasn't paying any attention to Mrs. Mus.

She wasn't even looking into the small window of the apartment. She was crouching low and staring intently at the bricks that made up the apartment building. "Uh… officer Hopps?" Nick called out, hoping to break whatever trance she had placed herself in.

She broke away from the bricks with a sigh. She walked back over to Mrs. Mus, bending down again, "Did your husband do anything before he left? Or did he just wake up and decide to take a walk?" she asked.

"I… yes, actually, he did do something before he left. He woke up, went to the bathroom, and then came back, announcing that he was going on a walk," she sniffed, rubbing her rapidly reddening eyes.

Judy nodded, picking her carrot pen off the ground, and clicking it off. They had gotten everything that they were going to be able to get from her. "Thank you for your time, Mrs. Mus," she said with a reassuring smile, "We're going to do everything we can to start the investigation the moment we are able. But, in the meantime, please, if he does show up, call this number."

Judy flipped to a new page in her notebook, scribbled down her number, and tore the page off for the mouse. Mrs. Mus gave her mumbled thanks and went back into her building. The two officers stood together, Nick stretching as he did. It hurt his knees to be down on the ground for that long.

Nick let out a sigh when his back popped. "So, Carrots, what'd ya think? Think there's a corpse somewhere in Little Rodentia?" he asked as Judy took the lead back to the cruiser. She didn't answer immediately, causing him to fake a gasp, "Do you think the wife did it?"

She let out a sigh and shook her head, "Of course not. What gave you that idea?"

He let out a chuckle, "Uh, the spouse _always_ does it. At least on TV. Besides, she could've called the ZPD to throw us off her trail! For all we know, Rodney Mus is buried six feet under that apartment building."

Judy refused to crack, she was on duty. They were supposed to be serious, and yet Nick never could contain himself. "I highly doubt she did it," she snorted as they made it to the gate. She slid through the small hole while Nick climbed over the top of the fence once again.

He landed with a loud grunt before they started the walk to the cruiser. They weren't able to park the cruiser directly next to the tiny city, they were a few blocks away. Traffic could be a bitch. "Why not? Don't you think it's strange that she didn't give us her first name?" he smirked.

"We have her first name in the file, which you forgot to bring. She's probably a receptionist or something, used to just introducing herself like that," Judy rationed.

Nick rolled his eyes, she would never give in to his crazy theories. It was always no nonsense while on duty, no matter how hard he tried to liven things up. He let out a sigh as the cruiser came into view, "Fine then. What do you think happened to Rodney Mus?"

She held her tongue until they climbed into the cruiser, her once again in the driver's seat, to Nick's chagrin. "I don't know, but something definitely seems off," she said, turning the key in the ignition. The cruiser roared to life and she backed out of the parking space, heading towards the precinct.

"I agree with that. It just doesn't seem reasonable to believe that _no one_ would want to hurt a banker. Or that he isn't just lost or black out drunk somewhere or…" Nick trailed off as a new thought entered his mind.

"Or what?" she asked, realizing that he had just cut himself off.

"What do you think of the possibility that Rodney Mus is having an affair?" he asked.

She thought for a moment before answering, "Male gray mice aren't exactly known for monogamy. Do you really think that she wouldn't at least have listed it as a possibility?"

Nick shook his head, "She could just be completely unaware of it. I didn't say anything because I had just thought of it, but I think if he shows up within forty-eight hours, an affair might be a good possibility."

She sighed, "It's not necessarily illegal to have an affair. Technically, we wouldn't have to say anything."

"I guess so," he agreed. It was silent for the next few minutes as the cruiser pulled up in front of the precinct. "Hey, what was with that last question you asked her? You were spacing out before you asked that question."

She pulled the key free from the ignition and looked back over at Nick, "If you looked at the apartment, you'd notice that the bathroom was across from the bedroom, you'd have to walk through the living room in order to get to it."

"Yeah, so?"

She shrugged as she stepped out of the vehicle, he copied her action. "Nothing at the moment, but you'd have to pass by the window in order to get to the bathroom."

XXX

"Oh, come on!"

"No."

"Please?"

" _No._ "

"Why not?"

"There are enough rumors without me _following_ you back to your apartment!" Judy hissed, placing her hands on her hips. She and her partner had just finished their shift at the precinct, filling out paperwork and adding to the still small file for their missing mammal case.

Nick only grinned, "Rumors are harmless, unless you _want_ them to be true." His hand was aching from all the paperwork and he knew just the thing to relax. A nice dinner at his apartment and a bottle of scotch. Now if only he had some company for the night…

Judy only narrowed her eyes and glared at him. She hated it when he insinuated things such as this. Nick wasn't even fazed by her glare, "Oh come on, who passes by a free meal?"

"I wouldn't pass up a free meal, but why does it have to be at your apartment?" In truth, she was bone-tired and didn't feel like cooking for herself. She didn't mind sitting down at a restaurant with her partner, but she drew the line at his apartment. Though she was so exhausted that she almost gave in right then and there.

Nick sighed, "What's the difference? You've already been to my apartment once today, what's one more time?" Judy hesitated, but he could tell she still wasn't buying it. So he sucked in a deep breath and said, "Alright, I didn't want to do this, but if you don't come and have dinner with me, Clawhauser will find out about you breaking into my apartment to wake me up."

Her eyes widened as shock spread across her face, "You wouldn't."

Nick smirked, _got her._ Clawhauser was a notorious gossip, and he could twist any situation to make it worse than it actually was. There was no telling what he could do in this instance. "Try me," he threatened.

She let out a loud groan, "Fine. Lead the way." There was no need to test him. She knew he was serious. He only nodded once before turning and walking towards his apartment, Judy hot on his tail. It wasn't often he was able to twist her arm like this, but it always felt so good when he did. _"It's called a hustle, sweetheart,"_ Judy mumbled angrily as they made their way into his building.

He was careful not to burst out laughing as they made their way towards his room. There was no need to make her unnecessarily upset. He unlocked his door and stepped in, she was close behind, shutting the door behind her. "Welcome to Casa de la Wilde," he said, gesturing towards the whole of his apartment.

"I know, I've been here before, remember?" she said, completely unimpressed with his theatrics.

"Oh, come on, you were so busy trying to wake me up, I doubt you got a good look," he grinned, slinking over to the kitchen area. She only rolled her eyes and pulled out one of the chairs underneath an admittedly beautiful granite counter.

She made her way onto the seat, placing her arms on the countertop. "So, what are you making?" she asked. She wasn't particularly happy, but free food was free food.

Nick didn't answer immediately, taking off his belt and undoing his tie before slipping his shirt off. Thankfully he was wearing a white undershirt. He walked over to the fridge and said, "I'm not sure, let's see what I have."

She gave him an incredulous look, though his back was turned, as he opened the fridge and rifled through its contents. He pushed drinks to the side, mostly alcoholic, and moved a surprising amount of vegetables out of the way to get at the back of the fridge. _He has a lot of vegetables,_ she noted, but there was a particular veggie that caught her eye.

"Are those carrots?" she asked, pointing at the orange object she spotted in the fridge. Nick responded by pulling his head out of the fridge, brining one of the carrots with him. "Why do you have carrots?" To her knowledge, foxes didn't eat carrots.

"What? Are you kidding… I love… carrots," he said. She only gave him a dry look in response. He placed a paw against his chest, doing his best to look offended, "Are you implying that I keep these around for you in case you decide to show up?"

She only continued to give him that same deadpan look. In response, he bit off the end of the carrot he was holding, smirking as he did, "What's up, doc?" She only rolled her eyes. He chewed the carrot twice before his eyes went wide, and he spat the piece of carrot out of his mouth.

"Oh, that's disgusting… how do you rabbits do it?" he asked. He tossed the vegetable in a nearby trashcan, knowing that she wouldn't want to eat it now.

"We aren't supposed to, technically," she snorted, "Carrots are high in sugar and are pretty bad for rabbits. We only eat them occasionally."

"So, I'm guessing you don't want these?" he gestured towards the other carrots in the fridge.

"They won't kill me, at least not immediately," she responded. He nodded and ducked his head back into the fridge. "You still haven't answered my question. You dragged me all the way up here, what are we having for dinner?"

"I have enough ingredients for a kick-ass salad, if you want," was his muffled reply. She let out a grunt in confirmation, causing him to pull his head out of the fridge again, this time carrying ingredients with him.

She watched him take things out of the fridge, lettuce, onion, even one of the many carrots before opening one of the drawers and pulling out a cutting board and a large knife. She raised an eyebrow when she realized he was going to make it all from scratch. He pulled a large bowl from one of the cabinets before he actually began chopping.

Judy watched as he started with the lettuce, slicing into it with surprising skill and precision, humming as he did. She watched for several minutes before letting out a deep sigh. She wasn't going anywhere any time soon, she might as well be comfortable. She unclasped her belt and set it on the chair next to her before removing her chest plate.

He eyed her the entire time, slowing down in his chopping as to not cut his fingers off. She placed her chest plate next to her belt and turned to see him staring at her. "What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," he replied, looking back at the knife, and picking up the pace again. Resuming his humming, he started to scrape the vegetables into the large bowl he had grabbed. It was at that moment, muffled music could be heard from one of the other rooms. Nick only rolled his eyes and handed the bowl to her.

"Goddamn it!" a loud voice echoed throughout the apartment, causing Nick to chuckle as he ducked back into the fridge. He came back out with a plastic container full of blueberries. Loud banging sounded next, followed by the neighbor screaming, "I'll call the fucking cops if you don't turn it down!"

Judy sighed, "It's a good thing I'm already here then." Nick gave her a confused look, to which she responded with, "Your neighbor let me in to your apartment because he thought I could help with his other neighbor. Apparently, his noise complaints haven't been getting through."

Nick chuckled, "So you met Dante, huh. Yeah, that makes sense, he's the type of guy to exchange one favor for another, if you know what I mean." She narrowed her eyes, but he only shrugged, "Hey, I don't judge. But the reason his complaints haven't been going through would probably be because they're coming to me."

She raised an eyebrow, but he only shook his head, "They see that I'm right next to the room with the complaint, they message me, I'm asleep or busy, I don't answer, nothing gets done about it," he explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"And it doesn't bother you?" she asked as he dug through the drawer again and pulled out a fork.

"Not really, I never have any trouble getting to sleep," he explained, making his way over to the couch, motioning for her to follow him. She did so reluctantly, sitting down so that there was cushion in between them.

"We should really do something," she mumbled as he flicked the TV on.

"Nah, we'll wait until he calls. It's his fault for never coming directly to me, he _knows_ I'm a cop," he chuckled as he loaded up Netflix. "So, what do you fancy tonight?" he asked, scrolling through the vast array of shows and movies present on the website.

"We're watching a movie?" she asked. "I was going to leave after I finished this," she admitted.

"Oh, come on!" he practically begged, "I could use a bit of company, it's so lonely up here." He couldn't help but crack a grin as she gave him another dry look.

"Fine, but this _is not_ a date," she growled, jamming her fork into the salad to underline her point.

"But what else could it be?" he gave her a cheeky grin.

She ground her teeth together and gave him her most terrifying glare she had ever produced. "How about harassment? Or threatening me? There are a number of ways this doesn't look good for you," she hissed.

He held his hands up in surrender, "Fine, fine, have it your way. I just wanted a nice evening together, you don't have to overreact. This is just two friends having dinner and watching a movie, so please, pick something?"

She snorted, but watched intently as he scrolled through dozens of different movie titles, looking for one that stood out. It took nearly a minute and a half, but one of the titles she didn't recognize. "Hey, what's that one about?" she asked as he scrolled over it.

"You haven't seen _Pup Fiction_?" Nick asked, as if the very idea was sacrilege. She shook her head a resounding no. "Well that's changing tonight!" he declared and selected the movie. He got up and flicked the lights off as the movie started.

The movie proceeded without any interruption, the sound drowning out the muffled music playing and the movie was even louder than Dante's yelling. Nick would pop blueberries into his mouth every now and then, while Judy finished her salad as quickly as she could, setting the bowl aside when she was finished.

She crossed her arms as she watched the movie, desperate not to fall asleep. She could feel it creeping up on her, her ears began to droop, and each time she shut her eyes, it took longer and longer for them to open again. Her head began to loll to the side, despite her attempts to remain sitting rigid. Finally, she reached her breaking point and let out a loud yawn, drawing Nick's attention.

A shiver passed through her spine as she felt his gaze on her side. A realization bolted through her that, to her displeasure, wasn't able to shock her awake, _I can't fall asleep at his apartment._ Her vision was growing bleary, but she could see a clock ticking on the wall near the TV, though the ticking was overshadowed by the sound of the movie.

It was midnight. She had worked a twelve-hour shift, put in two hours of overtime, and was now watching a nearly three-hour movie. There was no way she would be able to make it through to the end. She ground her teeth together when he heard him chuckle, "How ya holdin' up, Carrots?"

She managed to turn her head and glare at him, but he could see her heart wasn't in it. He smirked and turned back to the movie, there was a half an hour left to go. But she was fading fast and, before long, was fast asleep on his couch. He flicked the TV off once the movie ended, letting out a sigh when he heard the music once again.

"The couch is quite comfortable, don't you think?" he grinned when Judy didn't respond. She only shifted slightly, stretching out further on his couch. He was sure she had fought valiantly, but sleep conquered all. He let out a yawn as the thought went through his mind, _including myself._

He wasn't going to wake her, that would be rude. All her gear was here, and though he knew she wouldn't like it, he did have functional shower. He sighed and pulled the blanket he had used last night out from under his coffee table. He draped the black fabric over her form, chuckling when she unconsciously pulled the blanket closer to herself.

He knew that after tonight, she would be adamant about never coming back to his place again. _Then I might as well make the most of this,_ he snickered to himself as he pulled out his phone. He snapped a picture of her and considered sending it to Clawhauser. He did promise her that he wouldn't tell the fat cheetah about this morning, but he never promised anything about tonight.

As he pondered the consequences of that action, he heard a buzzing coming from the kitchen. Tucking his phone away, his decision set aside, but not forgotten, he walked over to the small kitchen area to see Judy's belt buzzing loudly. From one of the pouches on the belt, he pulled her phone out to see someone was calling her.

He was concerned, at first, but then recognized the number. She didn't keep a password on her phone, _her mistake,_ he thought to himself as he answered, "Officer Hopps' phone, may I take a message?"

"Nick?" came the response from his neighbor, "Where's officer Hopps?"

"Catching up on some much-needed rest at the moment."

The other line was silent for a moment as the raccoon thought of a response. "Where are ya, man?" he asked.

"Home," was the simple reply.

"Damn, that means… unless you stole her phone."

"I would never!" Nick responded indignantly. "She's asleep on my couch, tired after a long day at work, thank you very much. And I'm quite exhausted too, so unless you need something…"

"No, wait, don't hang up!" he begged, "You know what I want. You tell your rabbit girlfriend when she wakes up that she still owes me."

Nick only chuckled, "I wish, but I'm afraid it's not like that. Oh, and, after this, _you owe me_. And you can repay me by not bothering her. Especially with her current situation."

"Fine, fine, you have a deal… just get him to stop," the raccoon replied tiredly. Nick nodded to himself and shut Judy's phone off, placing it back in its pouch on her belt. He didn't leave immediately, however; he walked over to the end table and opened the drawer quietly.

He pulled out a lighter and a cigarette, placing the latter in his mouth and lighting it with the former. He was careful not to breath out near her, knowing he would never hear the end of it in the morning. And he was already in enough trouble with her at the moment.

He left his apartment and walked passed Dante's apartment door, leaving a trail of smoke behind him. He rapped loudly on the door beside Dante's and waited for the resident to open it. He let out a deep breath as the door swung inwards, a large lion greeting him. "Nick?" was the lion's response.

"Hey, Reggie," Nick pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled. "I got a call about a noise complaint."

The lion seemed confused for a second before he realized, "Oh… you're a cop?" He looked behind him towards his stereo, still quietly belting out some inane rap song. At least he had the decency to turn the stereo down while answering the door.

"Yeah, look, I'm going to have to ask you to keep it down. This is only a warning, but if Dante starts complaining to me again, I'll have to fine you," Nick sighed.

"Right… right, of course. I'll keep it down from now on, thank you for not fining me," the lion gave him a weak smile before shutting the door. Nick let out a loud sigh and walked back towards his apartment.

He pulled his phone back out of his pocket, a text to Clawhauser with the picture attached to it still pulled up on the screen. He inhaled deeply and blew smoke from his nostrils, hitting the send button. _Worth it,_ he grinned as he shut the door to his apartment.

XXX

 **Ah, that was a fun chapter. We get a bit of back and forth between our two characters with the whole possible murder, missing mammal case in the background. It might seem a bit distracting, but there are several important things revealed throughout this chapter. Yes,** ** _Pup Fiction,_** **is a pun on** ** _Pulp Fiction,_** **not a typo. Oh, and, before I forget… can anyone ID that unknown mammal at the beginning of the chapter? It's not easy, but she'll be popping up now and again, so keep her in mind. And yes, the skull is supposed to be reminiscent of the Punisher. In any case, the story is starting to unfold and I hope you stay tuned to see what happens next!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Reaper Cometh:

Author's Note:

 **Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. 'But Vellichor, why did this chapter take so long?' Well, my dear concerned fans, that would be because I had the sudden urge to do a Christmas chapter for my other story. And then I took a break and it ended up extending longer than I wanted… then my winter terms started… but… I'm back!**

 **In any case… last chapter had some good back and forth between Nick and Judy and ended with Nick taking a picture of Judy sleeping on his couch… and sending it to Clawhauser… which can only end badly. Does he have a way out? Or is he screwed? Let's find out, shall we? Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Darkness swept in like an oncoming tempest, devouring all who stood in its path. It blotted out the light from the stars in the sky, like a great cloud sweeping through the heavens up high. It swallowed the sun as it crept through the great city of Zootopia, despair and misery following close behind it. It hid those who did evil within its black cloak, amid the great swamp of crime that protected them from those who sought to bring them to justice. But what more was justice than the desperate attempt to shine a light in the darkness, though not a single photon could pierce such a veil.

And only when the shadows had plunged the city into that black abyss did the Grim Reaper emerge from his cave. With a hissing chuckle, and glowing green eyes, did he stalk the darkest parts of the city, looking for his next victim. The Reaper took those souls with glee, shrouding them in his own darkness before whisking them off to Hell for their sins.

He melted through the walls surrounding his favorite prey, passing through them as if he was a mere apparition. He crept through the shadows in the city, for the streetlights could not cast their brilliance everywhere, hunting for worthy souls to take. With a strangled cackle, he prepared his trap for tonight, more than one damned soul would come unto him.

As the Reaper prepared his trap, a weasel made his way into the walled inner city. He carried a large bag with him, which he threw over the gate before squeezing through the tight entrance. He caught the bag with practiced ease, chuckling as he did.

He didn't have the opportunity to rob banks often, but it was always well worth it. He had taken at least half a million dollars, maybe more. And it was all stuffed within the sack. The cops had surely been called by now, but it was too late. He had made a clean getaway. Now all he had to do was hide the stash and lie low for a while. And he knew the perfect place.

Little Rodentia. _Stupid rats,_ he chuckled to himself as he slunk through the tiny city. There was a very large manhole near the more rural part of the city that was perfect for stashing his stolen goods. There were no security cameras, and most police officers were too large to get into the walled city. He smirked to himself, this was too easy.

He made his way to the manhole easily enough, dodging the light traffic and occasional drifter. He made absolutely sure to stay away from places he knew had cameras, he had this city mapped out in his mind and he knew the best places to be to avoid the light. He set the sack down and turned to a lamppost that had long since shorted out.

He pulled if from the ground, the reason it did not work, and jammed it into the cover, using it as a lever to lift the heavy metal plate from the manhole. He set the metal hatch aside and jammed the pole back into the ground. He dropped the bag into the hole, listening carefully for the telltale splash of the bag hitting the ground.

The current wasn't quite strong enough to carry the bag away, and the bag wasn't quite big enough to block off the current, so it would be safe to leave here until he was no longer a wanted man. He dragged the manhole cover back into place, setting it down carefully as to not wake the neighborhood. Not that it would really matter… all the rodents that lived in the nearby apartments slept like rocks.

He smirked to himself, cracking his neck, and prepared to make his clean getaway. He slipped back into the shadows of the buildings, intent on making his way back towards the entrance of the walled city. He was careful not to knock any of the buildings over as he snuck through the sleeping city.

He was about to make his way passed a group of apartment buildings when he saw a small gerbil make his way out of the building and towards his location. He panicked and pressed himself as hard as he dared against one of the larger buildings, trying to avoid detection from the small gerbil. He breathed heavily as the gerbil moved closer and closer to his location, seemingly already knowing where he was.

But the gerbil walked right passed him with an almost dead expression. The weasel raised an eyebrow, the gerbil had even glanced at him… yet it made no attempt to show it even noticed him. The weasel pursed his lips as he watched the gerbil walk off, towards the edge of the city. Curiosity was starting to get the better of him. He knew that the citizens of Little Rodentia were wary of outsiders… the fact the gerbil made eye contact with him and yet did nothing was suspicious.

Growling to himself as curiosity won out, he followed the gerbil, keeping his distance. _I have time,_ he thought as he picked up his pace. The gerbil made no attempts to notice him, so he didn't even bother to hide amongst the buildings. His eyes widened when he saw where the gerbil was leading him.

It was an abandoned storage facility. Several large, abandoned storage facilities dotted Little Rodentia from a time when they had to grow and store their own food. Now they imported it from the rest of Zootopia directly into the markets, thus they no longer needed the storage facilities. The weasel didn't have time to question why the gerbil had wandered towards the abandoned building, as it entered the facility quietly.

With a raised eyebrow, the weasel walked over to one of the many windows on the side of the building so he could continue to observe the gerbil. He watched the gerbil walk to the center of the large room, before laying down flat on his back. The weasel's eyes widened when more rodents entered the room, walking over to the gerbil, and lying down next to it, shoulder to shoulder.

The weasel's eyes narrowed as he waited for something to happen… the rodents just laid there. Doing nothing. The weasel had half a mind to ask what they were doing, to barge into the building and demand an explanation. But the rodents seemed so… dead to the world. They had walked in without acknowledging each other, without blinking, and without hardly a breath in between. It was like they were performing some sort of odd ritual… where they were the sacrifices.

The weasel let out a bored sigh… this had been a waste of time. He could've escaped by now. Shaking his head, he turned away from the window to walk away. If those rodents just wanted to sit there… they could be his guest. He only managed to walk a few paces before he heard a _scraping_ sound, causing him to halt in his step.

It didn't sound like it was coming from inside the building… it sounded like it was coming from behind him. He whirled around, eyes widening in absolute terror as he came face-to-face with the Reaper. A sea of green surrounded him, plunging him into the abyss and voiding him of all thought and feeling, robbing him of his free will and removing him from reality. And then he was dead to the world, just as those rodents were.

He did not cry out, for he no longer remembered how. He did not tense, his body slouched as if he was completely relaxed. The life left his eyes as the Reaper let out a hissing chuckle. He had not expected for a weasel to fall into his trap… but one more soul for the harvest wouldn't hurt anyone.

XXX

"Hey… Fluff. You gotta wake up," Nick's voice was soft as he gently shook her still sleeping form. She didn't stir, causing him to let out a groan. He wanted to let her sleep in, but they had work to do. Maybe it was a bit mean to wait so long to wake her up. But, as a part of his revenge, he planned on only giving her ten minutes if she wished to make it on time.

He was already fully dressed and ready to go, badge on his chest, and gun strapped to his side. He couldn't help but grin when she rolled over in her sleep and dug herself deeper into the couch. _It should be a crime to wake her, she really is adorable,_ he snickered to himself, thankful that she was still asleep. Otherwise she would beat the shit out of him for even having that thought.

As if hearing what he was thinking, she let out a groan and turned over again, facing him. Her eyes opened slowly to regard Nick kneeling by the couch, his paw on her shoulder. "Come on, Carrots… we have work to do," he grinned as she shot upwards, her eyes wide and panicked.

"Work!" she practically screamed. She turned to glare at him, "You let me fall asleep!" He gave her a cheeky grin, it wasn't his fault. He had just decided not to wake her. She growled and threw the covers off her, launched herself off the couch, and landed flawlessly on the table. "How much time do I have?"

"First off, it's your fault you fell asleep, not mine, second… you have ten minutes if you don't want to be late," he smirked. She gave him a soul-crushing glare, but he wasn't fazed. "Oh, don't be a child."

"Me? A child!" Judy raged, "Why didn't you wake me up sooner? I wouldn't have been this angry if you had just woken me up sooner!" She pouted and placed her hands on her hips. At least everything she needed was here… she wouldn't have to rush back to her apartment. Though…

"Now, now, officer Hopps, you only have ten minutes… not enough time to be yelling at me… well, actually it's more like eight minutes now," he grinned at her. Her mouth dropped open and her ears fell behind her head as she realized he was right. "Bathroom's that way," Nick chuckled, pointing towards the hallway that led to both his room and the bathroom.

She rocketed towards the bathroom, leaving Nick alone to laugh his ass off. He pushed himself onto the couch, still laughing hard, as he heard the water start running. _What do you know, didn't even hesitate,_ he thought to himself, wiping a tear from his eye.

This was well worth it. Revenge was sweet. Sure, she'd be angry, no, furious for the rest of the day, but he had an ace up his sleeve. He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the messages to see the picture that he had successfully sent to Clawhauser. Step one was complete, now for step two. Step two in operation… hmm… he didn't have a name for it. It was more than just simple revenge. _I need a catchy title, so when I stand over her defeated form I can announce the operation's success,_ he grinned to himself as he heard the water shut off.

He glanced at the clock, how she had managed to take a two-minute shower was beyond him… but it wouldn't matter. It was a ten-minute walk to the precinct, she was still going to be late. Not a minute later, she came running out of the bathroom, water still dripping from her fur, fully dressed. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Decided to skip drying off?"

She glared at him as she put her chest plate back on, then strapped her belt around her waist. "Come on! We have to get moving if we don't want to be late," she growled, marching towards the door.

Nick snorted as he followed her out of his apartment, shutting and locking the door behind him. "You know, it'll be a momentous occasion no matter what happens," he said, causing her to give him a curious look.

"What do you mean? We don't have time for this… we have to run if we're going to make it!"

"Now, now, slow down bunny cop, I mean that if you manage to drag me there on time, it'd be a first for me… but if I manage to slow you down, it'd be a first for you. Your first lateness… almost worth slowing you down, don't you think?" he grinned.

"Nick…" she growled, leaving a threat hanging on the tip of her tongue.

"Come on, Carrots, one lateness ain't gonna kill ya, besides, knocking you off your high horse wouldn't be a bad thing either," he explained. She continued to glare at him, but he only shrugged, "You're the only cop on the force who hasn't been late once… just relax, Carrots, you'll be fine."

"Exactly, I haven't been late once, a record I don't plan on breaking!" Judy growled, grabbing a hold of him and dragging him towards the elevator.

He raised an eyebrow, "What do you think will happen if you are? Bogo will give the perfect attendance award to someone else? Everyone will laugh at you? Newsflash, Carrots… everyone else has been late hundreds of time, hell, I've never even _been_ on time!"

She halted just before the elevator and let go of Nick's paw. "It's all I have left, Nick… a good cop is _never_ late," she growled.

"Does that make me, and everyone else, bad cops, Carrots?" Nick asked.

"No, just…"

"Does it make you a better cop? Does it, Carrots?"

"No…"

"Then what're you worrying about? Come one, no one will care," Nick urged. _They'll be too worried about that picture Clawhauser has,_ he snickered internally. "Besides, I ain't running."

Judy fidgeted in place as she considered her options. In the end, she glared at Nick and growled, "This is your fault… I'll just leave you behind!" She slammed her fist on the elevator button to underline her point.

Nick let out a loud sigh, "I hate to break it to you, but you'll never make it. It's a five-minute run from here, if you hit all the lights… and I doubt you'll be lucky enough to do that. And you only have… three minutes."

She gave him a defeated look, just as the elevator door opened so the two of them could step in. "You wanted me to fail," she hissed, "Is this your idea of revenge? Why, because I harped on you yesterday?!"

The doors shut and the elevators began its descent to the ground floor. "Maybe. Oh, come on, relax Carrots!" Nick grinned. "Are you just worried you'll pick up my bad habits? Lateness isn't contagious, you know."

She tensed before letting out a loud sigh, "Maybe you're right… I'm afraid that if I'm late once, I'll let it become a habit, like you." She looked down at her feet, ears dropping down behind her head.

Nick raised an eyebrow at her sudden downcast attitude. "It won't be so bad, and I doubt it'll… hey, what are you doing?" he asked as she lowered herself into a running position. Her muscles coiled like springs as she prepared to dash towards the precinct. If she was lucky, and if she didn't slow down, she could make it in the two minutes she had left.

 _She's not actually going to…_ his mind trailed off as she growled, "Not starting a bad habit." The elevator dinged and the doors opened slowly, but she was off just as the gap was wide enough for her.

Nick watched as she crossed the lobby in just a few seconds, making it to the door just as a bear was entering. She slid between his legs, making it through the door before it closed, without slowing down. Then she took off towards the precinct at top speed, desperate not to be tardy. He only sighed and stepped off the elevator, "She's just going to make it worse on herself."

XXX

Clawhauser's eyes widened as the doors were practically blasted off their hinges and a small gray blur came rocketing into the precinct lobby. Judy slid to a stop just before crashing into Clawhauser's desk, panting heavily. "Did I make it?!" she cried out, looking up at the cheetah with desperate eyes.

"Wha-?" Clawhauser said dumbly. Judy only glared at him, continuing to try and catch her breath. "Out of breath, are ya, officer Hopps?" she could _hear_ the smirk in his voice, "Take a deep breath and try again… I have no clue what you're talking about."

She took a deep breath as he requested and said, "Am I on time or not?"

He shook his head, "I'm afraid not." She let out a gasp of horror and dropped to her knees. He watched her disappear from his line of sight, forcing him to stand and look over the edge of the desk to see her slamming her paw against the floor.

"Goddamn it, Wilde!" she all but roared as she pounded the wooden floor with her paw. Clawhauser watched with an amused expression as she lamented Nick's very existence, how he was out to destroy her, and, of course, how he had done this on purpose.

"Woah, calm down Judy, we've all been kept up late before, it's not your fault," the cheetah shrugged. She froze in her anger, ears standing tall on her head once again, swiveling to better catch what the cheetah had said.

"What did you say?" she hissed. He only chuckled, causing her head to turn slowly to glare at him, silently demanding he repeated himself.

"I just said that it's not your fault you were kept up late… it could happen to anyone," he said nervously. She stood up straight and turned to stare at him completely. "What?" he asked, plopping back into his chair.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. The cheetah shrugged, but couldn't help the little smirk that graced his features. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned his desk and noticed something missing. "Where are your morning donuts, Clawhauser?" she asked. The fat cheetah was always munching on donuts in the morning, to see him without any was… suspicious.

"Oh, I have something much juicier than donuts, Foxtrotter," Clawhauser grinned, leaning forward slightly. At that moment, the doors opened once again and Nick waltzed into the building, not rushing, and walked towards Judy and Clawhauser.

"Foxtrotter?" Judy asked, cocking her head to the side, not quite sure what Clawhauser was getting at. She narrowed her eyes as Clawhauser let out a giggle, not even bothering to cover his mouth like last time.

"No need to be modest, officer Hopps, we all know about your late-night activities with officer Wilde," Clawhauser smirked. Judy's reaction was immediate, her eyes widened and her ears dropped behind her head.

"Those are allegations!" she yelled, pointing at Clawhauser accusingly, "Perpetuated by you!" Nick walked up behind her and crossed his arms, smirk gracing his face. Everything was going exactly as planned.

"Really? Then why did you sleep at his apartment last night?" he grinned at the shock that passed across her face.

"H-h-how do you know that?" she asked, mouth agape in horror. If Clawhauser knew… everyone knew. _There's no way… unless…_ the thought passed through her mind just as the cheetah's mouth opened to respond.

"I got an interesting text last night from Nick… a picture of you asleep on his couch. And you did look _exhausted,_ " his grin widened as he pulled out his phone to show her the picture. Her eyes widened, sure enough, that was her on Nick's couch, completely knocked out. "I wonder what you were doing…"

She turned around slowly to Nick to see an equally large, shit-eating grin on his muzzle as well. "Y-y-you… you lied to me. You said you wouldn't tell…" she said slowly, still in disbelief.

"Now, Carrots, I only promised I wouldn't tell about last morning, I said nothing about our little rendezvous last night," he smirked, not caring as fury swept across her small form. Her body trembled with righteous anger as she glared at Nick with all the hatred she could muster.

"Morning? You didn't say anything about morning… is that why you're late all the time, officer Wilde?" Clawhauser giggled.

Nick only shrugged, but Judy responded, "Don't you enable him! These are all lies, slanderous lies!"

Clawhauser giggled again, "Aw, embarrassed about your "Wilde" night, Miss Hopps?" He looked over at Nick, who was struggling not to burst out laughing, "Did she "juice your carrot," Nick?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back as Nick lost it, his laughter echoing throughout the lobby as a red tinge rose to Judy's cheeks. "You could say that," he chuckled, earning a punch on his arm from Judy. However, he only laughed it off.

"You bastard! Why are you doing this?" Judy asked, feeling the heat rise all the way to the tips of her ears. "Do you want us to be-" she was interrupted before she could finish.

" **Hopps! Wilde!** In my office, **now!** " came Bogo's commanding voice from his office, causing the three of them to immediately silence themselves. They froze, and then slowly turned their heads to see Bogo standing at the door to his office, deep frown etched on his face.

"-Fired?" Judy finished with a groan.

Nick only grinned and grabbed her paw, dragging her towards the chief's office, "Come on, let's not keep the chief waiting." She tried her hardest to break free from his grasp, but his grip was unrelenting. _Why doesn't he seem concerned?_ she growled to herself.

They were about to be fired… there was no way he could get out of this. _"I'm going to kill you,"_ she hissed, just barely loud enough for him to hear. He only laughed her anger off, pushing her into the chief's office and shutting the door behind him.

Two chairs were positioned in front of Bogo's desk. The buffalo himself stood behind his desk, glaring at the two of them as they entered, gesturing towards the two empty seats. Judy was hesitant, taking her time climbing onto the stool, but Nick plopped himself onto the chair immediately, smirk still present on his face.

"Now," Bogo started, but wasn't able to get any farther as Judy couldn't contain her panic.

"I'm sorry chief, it's not my fault, it's Nick, he didn't wake me in time and he sent a picture of me to Clawhauser, and you know how that goes, and then he lies to everyone saying that we're dating, which we very clearly aren't, and he's saying that I… that I…" she blubbered, letting the panic take her over, that red tinge ever present. If Nick thought she was taking the flak for this, he was poorly mistaken.

But he never offered a word in his defense. He only sat there with that same grin on his face, arms crossed, as he waited for Bogo's response. "Calm down Hopps, I can barely understand you. Now… about your lateness today," she started.

She held her breath, ears dropping behind her head. _Oh god, he's pissed about that too! I'm definitely fired,_ her mind ran wild with those thoughts, letting them consume her sanity as she didn't even think to defend herself. She bit her lip in panic as Bogo continued, "Who cares?"

"Huh?" was her confused response. She looked over at Nick, who gave her a knowing wink. _He… he was right,_ she thought to herself, the panic receding just that little bit. It was an irrational fear, now that she could think clearly. _Where did it come from?_ she wondered quietly as Bogo continued.

"Yes, why would I care about lateness? As long as you show up, that's your problem," he explained. She let out a sigh of relief, he was right. Nick had _never_ been on time, and he _never_ got in trouble, except for a declaration of annoyance from her. "I'm more concerned about the rumors circulating about the two of you."

The panic crashed back into her at full force as she gasped in surprise. She had nearly forgotten about that piece of information. "W-what about it?" she asked in a shaky voice. _I'm still in hot water!_ she growled to herself. And yet Nick didn't look panicked at all.

"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't even bother with rumors, there's a new one each week. However, I have noticed how the rumor about the two of you," he paused to glare at them, "Has persisted since _he_ first arrived here. And now there seems to be tangible evidence floating around in the form of a picture."

"It's nothing por-… it's just a picture of me asleep at Nick's apartment!" Judy cried out, the heat in her face getting worse. "That shouldn't be considered fraternization!"

"I know, I received the mass text from Clawhauser as well," Bogo explained, "At three in the morning, no less. And you are correct, technically the photo proves nothing close to fraternization… however, it does raise concern about your relationship."

"There is no relationship! We're just partners," Judy insisted, gesturing wildly towards Nick.

"The picture, Hopps, was sent from Wilde's phone. You were in his house. It gives something to the rumors," Bogo explained, expression serious.

"It's hearsay, at best, empty allegations," Judy urged. She knew what was coming next, and she was going to fight to the end to keep her job. She turned to Nick with a pleading expression, begging him to step in and defend their lack of a relationship.

He only shrugged, "I ain't denying anything." Her mouth dropped open, _why was he lying?_ Did he _want_ to get fired?

"There is a very strict policy in place for interpersonal relationships between coworkers here at the ZPD," Bogo explained, opening one of the drawers in his desk, and pulling out a sheet of paper. "And that would be in the form of this binding contract."

He set the paper on the desk and slid it towards the two officers. He clicked a pen and set it on top of the paper. "Basically, by signing this, the ZPD acknowledges the two of you are in a "relationship" and prevents us from interfering in said relationship. However, by signing this, you agree to refrain from all displays of affection, including, but not limited to: holding hands, kissing, and intercourse."

"Oh no, holding hands," Nick snickered, earning a glare from Bogo. Judy did not respond. She couldn't. Her eyes were wide as she stared off into space, her mind still trying to comprehend what was going on.

"You must also agree to remain professional during work hours, that means _no nicknames_ Wilde," Bogo growled.

Nick placed a hand against his heart, "No nicknames? Not even Carrots? Come on, chief, I had been calling her that _before_ we were partners." It almost wasn't worth it if he no longer got to call the little bunny cop Carrots anymore.

"I'm afraid not Wilde, no nicknames," Bogo reaffirmed.

"Not even Fluff? Or Hippidy-Hopps?"

"No."

"Officer Bunny? Fluff-Butt? Sargent Grumps?"

"Absolutely not."

"Foxtrotter?" Nick couldn't help the smirk that presented itself on his face. He liked that one… so he stored it away for later.

"What? _No_ ," Bogo growled, clearly tiring of Nick's shenanigans.

"Fine, no nicknames… but only during work hours," Nick crossed his arms.

Bogo let out a sigh, "Yes, only during work hours. Now, if I may continue, you also may not _take any photographs and share them with coworkers!_ " It was at that moment Judy started to come to, her ears twitching in response to her coming online once again.

"We aren't dating, though!" she shouted out, having completely missed the conversation between Nick and Bogo. Bogo gave her a dry look, but Nick ignored her completely. She continued complaining, "I'm sorry chief, but this isn't necessary, officer Wilde and I _are not_ in a relationship, and this won't happen again. I can assure you, I will be staying far away from-"

The sound of a pen scraping against the paper halted her speech, causing her to look over at Nick… who was signing his name on the document. "Nick? What are you doing?" she asked.

"Come on Carrots… I mean, officer Hopps, it's better that we sign this now, rather than later," he grinned, offering her the pen.

She only stared at it while Bogo spoke, "Yes, better safe than sorry, I believe. Besides, this also prevents the rumors about the two of you from prospering. I highly suggest you sign it, Hopps."

With a growl, she snatched the pen from Nick's hands and wrote her name in the provided blank on the document. "Fine. There, happy?" she asked, shoving the paper back at Bogo.

He only nodded, "Yes. Now that that's over with, I have some pressing news." Her eyes widened as the anger vanished from her face. So, this little meeting was more than just their apparent fraternization. He nodded when he noticed he had their undivided attention. Once again, he reached into his desk, but this time he pulled out folders, which he laid out on the desk. "There are _five_ new missing mammal cases in Little Rodentia."

"Five?" Judy asked, eyebrow arched. "Is there any connection with our current case?"

"That's what you're going to find out today, Hopps," Bogo explained, pushing the pile of files towards them. "Again, this can only be preliminary information gathering, as the forty-eight hours has yet to pass and these came in this morning… around the time the picture started circling, but I want you to see if you can find a connection between these five and the one you currently hold. Dismissed."

The two of them left Bogo's office in silence, shutting the door after them. They walked out of the precinct, Nick's grin still in place. "Well, I think that went rather well," he said as they hopped into their cruiser, him taking the driver's seat.

"Why? Nick? Why would you do this to me?" she asked, slamming the door as hard as she could.

"I don't know, Carrots-" he paused when she glared at him. "Oh, come on, you're not going to get me indicted for that, are you?"

"I might," she hissed.

"Fine, god, I won't do the nicknames anymore," he growled, starting the car. "I don't see why you're so upset. I made you break your record, so you don't have to stress about that anymore. I halted all the rumors between us, that must be a plus! Oh, and as a great sacrifice to myself, you no longer have to deal with the nicknames anymore. I'd say you have this pretty good, Judy."

"You _lied_ to everyone, Nick! _We aren't dating,_ " she snarled, crossing her arms, and leaning back against the seat.

"Well… maybe we should."

She looked over at him, eyes widening, "What?"

He returned her glance and said, "We're already dating as far as the ZPD is concerned, so why not do this for real?" He shrugged, as if it was no big deal at all. In truth, he had wanted this for quite a while, but Judy was all work and no play. By forcing her to sign those forms, maybe… maybe she would relent.

"You bastard," she smirked, "This was your plan from the start… that's why you've been trying to invite me up to your apartment for so long!"

He snorted, "Yeah, basically. Though making you tardy was icing on the cake, revenge if you will. If you had just accepted earlier, I wouldn't have done that to you." The two shared a laugh as he pulled out of the parking space and headed towards Little Rodentia.

They lapsed into silence, but not for long. "Why me, Nick? Why would you want to date me?" she looked down at her feet.

"I had thought you had gotten why with all the _subtle_ hints I've been giving out these past few months," Nick sighed.

"You were being serious? I had always thought you were just joking around, trying to rile me up," she said softly.

"Of course they were jokes, but it should've been obvious that there was _something_ I liked about you from them," he sighed.

"Oh…" she trailed off as they came to a stop at a stoplight. "What would that _something_ be, Nick?" she asked, unable to hold back her curiosity.

"Besides the fact that you're _adorable?_ " he smirked, looking over at her, only to receive a hard glare in response. "I guess you mean a lot to me, Judy." The light turned green and he looked back at the road, taking off from their stopped position.

"Fine," she said softly, drawing his attention, though not for long, as he nearly swerved off the road. "We can give this a go, but you'd better abide by the rules of the document, Nick!"

"Fine, fine," he sighed. "You really need to relax sometimes, Judy."

Her eye twitched before she let out a defeated sigh. "The nickname rule is stupid… just don't use them around coworkers and I won't report you," she gave in. She wasn't sure if she would be able to get used to him calling her Judy all the time. After all, he only used her real name if it was important. How would she tell if he was always using it?

He grinned, "Thanks, Carrots." The duo pulled up near Little Rodentia, where Nick stopped the car and shut off the engine. He couldn't help but smirk as they stepped out of the cruiser. _Operation Get Judy to Date Me was a complete success._

XXX

 **And there you have it! A little overdue, but I struggle with this kind of thing. I would like to thank Dracologistmaster for helping to some degree, as I truly am deficient in this category. Now, I know there was a huge shift in tone from the beginning to the end of this chapter, but the first part is supposed to be foreshadowing, duh.**

 **Uh… some of you predicted that they wouldn't end up together because of what I said in chapter one, but I never confirmed nor denied that. I… couldn't resist, really. I… guess I ship these two (I know, it sounds weird coming from my mouth too), so it was inevitable. But, you know me… it doesn't mean they're getting a happy ending… not to say the ending will be bad for them… just pointing out that anything is up in the air at the moment.**

 **So, uh, I'd actually like to know how I did for this one. I mean, it's framed like a revenge scheme from Nick, so it's not really romance. And I doubt that I'll get to delve** ** _too_** **deep into their relationship, because, again, I'm bad at this… but I would like to know if it entertained you all to a degree… I've never really written anything like this. In any case, next time we get to see what happens at the crime scene, once again back in Little Rodentia. Stay tuned to see what happens!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Pop Goes the Weasel:

Author's Note:

 **Here we go again. Last chapter had a bit less… depressing aspects, I guess you could say. It was more… uplifting? Perhaps? But it satisfied my… unfortunate desire to place Nick and Judy together. Their overall fate is still undecided… at the moment, I'm afraid. This chapter is a bit more… plot relevant. In that case… please, enjoy!**

XXX

Once again, the duo made it into the walled city, Nick landing just as gracefully as before, and Judy slipping through the small hole with a running start. This time, Nick had remembered to take the case file with him. "Hey Carrots," Nick said as they made their way towards the apartment complex where the missing mammals had lived.

"Yes, Nick?" she sighed. She rolled her eyes when she noticed the extra bounce in his step. Despite the fact that they were heading to a possible crime scene, he was still excited about triumphing over her. She wasn't sure if she should be peeved or…

"Is it strange that all five of the new missing mammals all lived in the same complex as the first one?" he asked. Her eyes widened as she snatched the file from his paws. "You could've asked," he groaned as she flipped through the five missing cases. Sure enough, they were all from the same complex.

"This is definitely suspicious," she growled, handing the file back to Nick. The duo quickened their pace towards the same spot that they had been to the other day. The red-bricked building still stood tall next to the other three buildings that sat next to it, making up a four-building apartment complex. The buildings were grouped in a square and surrounded by a single road that led off in four different directions.

Outside of the buildings, a small crowd was gathering. "Those must be the families of the missing mammals," Nick observed. Unlike Mrs. Mus, the rodents gathered were all of varying gender and family size. One was just a wife, missing her husband like Mrs. Mus, but there was also a huge family, a father and his seven kids that had lost their mother.

"Well… why don't you go and interview them, try and connect as much as you can to Mr. Mus' case," Judy suggested, handing Nick her carrot pen. "I'm going to have a look around."

"Is there something to find?" he asked.

"I don't know," she admitted, "But… I think it's safe to say that _if_ someone is taking these mammals… there's a reason why all the ones they've taken live in this complex." He nodded in response and walked over to the gathering of rodents to ask his questions.

She walked over to the buildings where each mammal had been taken and looked through each of the windows. Sure enough, the bathroom was on the opposite side of the room than the bedroom. _Which means our missing mammals would have to pass the window in order to get to the bathroom,_ she noted to herself. Same as Mr. Mus.

Judy continued to check the buildings, and one fact was starting to stand out as she looked over each of the four buildings. There were no security cameras. If something _was_ taking these mammals… this would be the perfect place to do it. But it didn't make any sense… Mr. Mus had walked out of his building of his own accord.

And she had a feeling the others were similar stories as Nick waltzed over to her, bored expression on his face. "Well," he sighed, "They just started repeating themselves. None of them could think of anyone, or any reason, to harm the missing mammals. All the missing animals had gotten up to use the bathroom before they disappeared."

"That's all you could gather from them?" Judy asked.

"Well… there's not much else to tell. There doesn't seem to be any real connection besides the bathroom thing and the fact that they all live in this same complex," he shrugged. "They all have different careers, different ages, different genders, and different family lives."

"What about times of disappearance?" Judy asked. Nick snapped his fingers, and nodded in agreement. She watched as he walked back over to the group of mammals and asked them Judy's question. How he had forgotten to ask that in the first place was beyond her.

He came back not even a minute later before he said, "Well… they all got up within ten minutes of each other."

"That's not exactly a wide margin of time," Judy noted. "What do you think?"

"Well it's definitely suspicious… but it seems more like a coincidence to me," Nick noted. "If we assume there _is_ something taking these mammals, and we consider the lack of any real target preference, we can assume that whatever is taking these animals shows up in this time frame and grabs whoever happens to pass by the window at that time."

"That's what I was thinking," Judy agreed. "Do you notice anything about this particular area?" Nick looked around for a moment before turning back to her, shaking his head. "There aren't any security cameras."

"Well… if you believe the residence, this is a low crime area, there aren't any need for cameras," Nick countered.

"But don't you think it's suspicious?" Judy asked. "I mean, look at where we came in, that office building right there has a camera," she pointed towards the building they had passed to reach the complex.

"Okay… maybe a little suspicious," Nick admitted, "But there must be half a dozen complexes in this place that don't have any cameras."

"What about the surrounding buildings?" Judy asked, once again pointing at the office building. "This is a huge dark spot, I bet there isn't a single camera pointed in this direction. Other complexes might have one or two cameras from nearby buildings pointing in the right direction… this complex doesn't."

"What are you suggesting?" he asked.

"I think," Judy started, "That _something_ is coming here in the middle of the night, sneaking past the cameras, and waiting here for a particular time period. Whoever passes by their window and sees whatever it is, goes to investigate… then it takes them."

"So… this is a case of kidnapping," he tried to clarify.

"One mammal I could see being a simple case of going for a walk and getting lost… but not five… in one night," Judy crossed her arms. "I think this is definitely a case of kidnapping… not just missing mammals."

"Right," Nick agreed, "I'll inform Bogo that our assessment has bumped this up from missing to kidnapping." He pulled his radio from his chest as she wandered off towards one of the entrances to the complex. He paused before pushing down the button on the radio, calling out to her instead, "What are you doing?"

"Our mysterious kidnapper clearly doesn't want to be seen… I say we should find the path with no cameras," she said, turning back to her work as he made his call to Clawhauser, who would inform Bogo.

Judy walked around the square created by the road, checking each of the entrances for cameras. The corners of each of the entrances was occupied by an office building… except for one of them. One of them was a run-down, completely abandoned building. No cameras.

And there was something else off about the building. In order to get a better look, she crouched, and sure enough, there was something else wrong about the building. It had been pushed off its foundation… just slightly. _As if an animal had pressed its back to the side of the building to evade detection,_ she thought to herself.

Dropping to her hands and knees, cursing that she had once again forgotten a magnifying glass, she began frantically searching the area where the mysterious animal had pressed up against the building. She looked for fur, pawprints, claw marks, _anything_ that would help them figure out what had been here.

It was just a hunch. Truthfully, although it was very likely an animal _had indeed_ pressed up against the building to move it off the foundation, there was no telling when it had happened. Or if the particular animal that had done it was the kidnapper. The only thing she knew for certain was that _something_ had moved the building, and that _something_ was larger than any animal that should be living in Little Rodentia.

Her eyes widened, however, when she spotted that little bit of proof she needed. A tuft of fur, caught in a shrub near the building. She had lucked out… whatever that tuft of fur belonged to had taken great care to avoid detection, yet it had made a mistake. She grinned as she pulled a pair of tweezers out of one of the pouches on her belt. With the tuft of fur grasped firmly in the tweezers, she turned towards Nick, who was walking towards her.

An excited smile still on her face, she called out to him, slightly louder than she should have, "Hey Nick! How's your nose?"

Raising an eyebrow, he responded with, "Just fine, thank you."

"No, I mean, how are you at tracking?" she shook her head, chuckling as she did.

"Uh…" he thought for a moment. "I'm no wolf, but I can get the job done. Though I don't think I'd be able to track any of our kidnapped mammals… I'd just lose the scent in the hustle and bustle."

She held up the tuft of fur. "How about something that doesn't belong here?" she asked. Nick shrugged in response, taking the pair of tweezers from her paws and held the fur up to his nose, inhaling deeply as he did.

"Hmm…" he exhaled slowly, "Yeah… this is rather fresh. Less than twelve hours, actually. I'm not sure what it belongs to though."

"Do you think you can follow the trail? The animal was pressed up against this building," she explained, gesturing towards the building that had been shoved off its foundation. Once again, Nick could only shrug as he handed the tweezers back to Judy. She pulled a small baggie from another pouch and placed the tuft of fur inside. If Nick couldn't track the mammal in question, at least they could take it back to a lab and figure out what it belonged to.

Judy watched in fascination, and with a fair bit of amusement, as he dropped to all fours and sniffed at the ground. One of his ears flicked as he found the scent he was looking for rather quickly. "Yeah, it's strong here… whatever it was stood here for a good three to five minutes," he explained.

Still on all fours, he started tracking the scent, motioning with his tail for Judy to follow him. She rolled her eyes at his gesture, but walked behind him nonetheless. He led her through the city, as she kept a careful eye out for cameras. To her dismay, she spotted several that poked holes in her camera theory. Making a mental note to try and pull the tapes for later, she continued to follow Nick as he led her away from the heart of the city.

Eventually, he led her through an abandoned part of Little Rodentia and stopped. "The scent is strong here," he explained, standing up on two legs again.

"Like… how strong?" Judy questioned. She spotted a large, empty storage facility.

"Strong enough that whatever it is… might still be here," he explained, pointing at the empty storage building. She gulped and pulled her gun from her holster. He copied the motion as the duo approached the building. Breathing heavily and gripping her gun tighter, she bent down slightly so she could peer through the windows of the facility.

Empty. With a slight growl of frustration, she turned to Nick and motioned for him to walk around one side of the building, while she did the other. He nodded in confirmation and the duo began to creep around the sides of the building, guns at the ready.

At the same time, they leapt around the building, weapons trained at the ground, expecting their suspect to be cowering before them. Judy gulped and lowered her weapon, as did Nick as they spotted their "suspect." Judy breathed heavily as she and her partner slowly approached the prone mammal.

"Nick…" she trailed off as he carefully nudged the animal with his foot so that it turned over on its side. Judy's eyes widened and her jaw clenched tightly as a strange feeling passed over her. "Is it just me… or do I recognize this animal?"

"No… it's not just you," Nick growled as he holstered his weapon. Before them laid the corpse of a weasel, one that they had met before. "Duke Weaselton is dead."

XXX

"Are you okay?" Judy asked as she watched Nick rub his eyes tiredly. They had reported the body to the precinct and had it extracted so an autopsy could be performed. It was unclear to the two of them what had killed the weasel. But they were fairly certain that Duke Weaselton had not kidnapped those rodents.

"Duke wasn't exactly a friend of mine," Nick sighed. "But I knew him, yes. Honestly, I'm surprised that he had lived _this_ long." Judy decided against commenting. "So, what now, Carrots? The autopsy won't be back for a few days…"

"Well we can't just put the investigation on hold," she responded with indignation.

"That's the only lead we have, Carrots," he countered.

She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought. "That's… that's not entirely true."

"Oh, come on!" he griped, "We've got nothing except a body. The only thing that's happened is that this has escalated from a kidnapping to a murder investigation."

"All the more reason to keep searching for answers!" she growled. "And we don't know for certain if this is connected to the kidnappings."

"Why wouldn't it be?" he asked. "Everyone we spoke to today was under the impression that this _never_ happens here in Little Rodentia. All the kidnappings were connected, why wouldn't the murder be too?"

"Because we don't know why the weasel was here, for all we know, this was a random accident… not a murder," she sighed.

"No… I don't think so," he said. "He was there by the apartment complex. My guess is that he saw something that he wasn't supposed to, and the kidnapper killed him to silence him."

She let out a sigh, "Yeah… that's probably a fair deduction." He gave her a victorious grin, it looked as if he was going to get his break after all. But her eyes widened as a new thought entered her head. "What about the cameras?!"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "What about them?" he asked. "I thought you said there weren't any cameras."

"There were several on the way here that would've caught him… if he was murdered and then dragged here, the cameras would've caught the killer," she explained.

He blinked at her, he had neither noticed the cameras, nor thought of how Duke would've walked right past them. "Well…" he trailed off. He had nothing. He honestly didn't want to keep working. They had just encountered a _murder_. This wasn't their usual MO… they had never encountered a murder before.

"Exactly, there's no reason to stop our investigation. Because we have another lead," she said. _Why is she so gung-ho about this?_ he wondered. It wasn't… excitement. She wasn't _excited_ about continuing the investigation. She was just very… _enthusiastic._ And it was a bit weird to him. He would've thought that their first dead body would've shocked _her_ more to her core than it did him.

"Hold on a moment, Carrots," Nick said, placing a paw on her shoulder before she could bolt towards the buildings with the cameras in question. "Where do you think you're going?"

She gave him a confused look. "I'm going to go ask for the tapes from last night. You know, the ones that caught Duke Weaselton's killer dragging his body over here," she said, tapping her foot impatiently against the ground.

"Don't you think something is off here?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"No," Judy said immediately, "All I see is a dead body and six missing mammals. We have to get moving."

"I think you're not thinking straight. I mean… we did just encounter a dead body," he said.

Her eyes narrowed as her tapping increased. "Are you saying that I'm compromised at the moment? There's a murderer out there… we need to work twice as hard, twice as quickly to catch him!" she said.

"No, I mean…" he sighed, "By all means, go ask for the tapes. I just don't think they're going to give them to you."

"And why not?" her tapping halted as she glared at him. "We have grounds to request for those tapes to be shown."

"Well…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his head. It was just a thought, and probably a stupid one at that. But he would have to tell her anyways. "I just think that it's a bit weird that there's cameras everywhere, but every single mammal that I spoke to today firmly believed that _nothing_ bad ever happened here in Little Rodentia. If that was true… why the cameras?"

She thought for a moment, trying to think of a rational explanation. "Paranoia, I guess," she shrugged. "Just because nothing has happened before, doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. Case and point, the murder and the kidnappings."

Nick sighed, "No… that's not it. I just don't believe _nothing_ has ever happened before. That's just unrealistic."

"What are you suggesting, Nick?" Judy asked, placing her hands on her hips. "That there's some cover-up _conspiracy_ going on here?" she couldn't help but laugh.

"Who knows. Little Rodentia is right at the heart of Zootopia, it doesn't make sense that this place and this place alone is excused from crime," he said, expression completely serious.

"I think you're watching too many movies, Slick," Judy chuckled, "This place isn't _excused_ from crime, obviously, I just think that…"

"What? That the citizens here are more law-abiding? I doubt that, Carrots," Nick said. "No one in this city is that perfect, and certainly not here either. I'm just saying, it's possible."

Judy shook her head. "Now you're being the paranoid one," she sighed, "We need to see those tapes."

"No, I agree with you," Nick said, holding up his paws. "But I think if we just waltz over there and ask for the tapes, they could refuse. And while we waste time getting a warrant, they do something funny with them that would impede our investigation."

"I can't believe this, you're just looking for an excuse to goof off!" Judy growled. "We have a dead body, _we can't afford to just sit around wasting the day away!_ " She stormed away before he could refute her statement.

XXX

Like Nick predicted, all of the buildings that had owned the cameras that would have caught Duke Weaselton's murderer had flat out refused to give them the tapes they requested. "I told ya, Carrots," Nick sighed as the duo headed back towards the precinct.

"That doesn't prove anything," Judy grumbled, crossing her arms. Nick had managed to beat her to the punch and make it into the driver's seat. "Your conspiracy theory is just that, a theory. It can't be substantiated."

"I don't know, not a single one of those office buildings would give us their tapes, that's still suspicious in my book," Nick argued.

Judy shook her head in defeat. "You're just being paranoid. There's no cover-up operation going on in Little Rodentia. Where are you going?" she asked as she watched him drive passed the precinct.

"Home," he chuckled.

" _Nick_ ," she complained, "We're still on-duty. And we have a warrant to order."

"Already taken care of," Nick waved his cell phone in her face, not looking away from the road. "And we don't have anything else to go on, we just get to play the waiting game."

"We still have _five_ hours left on our shift! We can't just sit back and relax, waiting for the results of the autopsy. We should keep investigating, or maybe get another case to work on!" she all but shouted.

"There's nothing else to investigate. There are no more leads, there are no more clues, there are no more witnesses to question. All we can do is wait," Nick growled. "And what do you mean _get another case to work on?_ We can't do that, you know that Bogo won't let us take a new case until we finish this one. What's with you, Carrots?"

"There's nothing _with_ me, Nick," Judy growled. "There was a murder… we should be doing everything we _can_ to catch him! Sitting around, waiting for lab results doesn't accomplish that."

"Oh."

"Oh? _Oh!_ That's your response? Oh? It should but _duh!_ " Judy griped.

"No," Nick shook his head. "I understand what's going through your head right now. That's what the 'oh' was for. I was concerned that you weren't reacting at all to the dead body, but now I see…" but he was cut off by the sound of sirens.

His eyes widened as he pulled to the side along with all the other cars to allow the three police vehicles to pass them by. He and Judy shared a look and she said, "We're still technically on duty." He nodded in response, hit the sirens, and followed the other police cars.

He pressed harder on the accelerator to catch up to the leading cars, they were driving well over the speed limit. Nick swallowed when he realized that this must be a real emergency. "Nick… what were you saying before?" Judy asked, realizing that the police cars had cut him off.

"We're a bit busy at the moment, Carrots," Nick grumbled as he followed the other cars, taking a hard-right turn. "I'll tell you later." Judy nodded solemnly as the other police cars came to a grinding halt around a single building. They didn't even bother parking in a parking space as the duo came to a stop.

They stepped out of the car, but Nick hesitated in following Judy. They were at a crime scene, evident by the yellow tape preventing anyone else but the police from interfering. The other officers were rushing towards the building, but Judy paused in her step and turned around to see Nick staring blankly at the building with wide eyes.

She called out to him, but he didn't make any attempt to show that he had heard her. With a frustrated sigh, she walked back over to him and said, "Nick?"

"Judy…" he said softly, causing her ears to droop when she heard her real name. "Tell me that isn't my apartment building."

"Nick…" she trailed off. She hadn't recognized it at first, but it was clear now. Several police cars surrounded the scene, officers were scattered everywhere. Some were talking to residents, others were setting up tape, and quite a few were walking inside. They had no idea what was going on. "That's your apartment building," she finished with a heavy sigh. It was a good thing there weren't any firetrucks parked outside.

XXX

 **I decided upon a shorter chapter instead of a longer one… splitting this chapter into two. Like the chapter title? I couldn't resist… in any case, we get two little surprises this chapter. Although one should've already been obvious from the last chapter, but this last one should be surprising. I wonder what's happened at Nick's apartment building? And then there's whatever's happening to Judy at the moment… can anyone guess? Of course, there's also that conspiracy that Nick mentions… but I wonder how true that actually is. All that and more, stay tuned until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – On the Hooks of Fate:

Author's Note:

 **I know… last chapter was pretty short. But it was a set up chapter for this one. We left on… some sort of cliffhanger, lots of questions that we need to answer here. Or… partially answer, in any case. But the most glaring of which, would be why there are police taping off Nick's apartment. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Judy was unable to stop Nick from bolting towards his apartment building. Shaking her head, she followed behind him, barely able to keep up. He slid under the police tape while she was able to run right under it after she had dropped her ears back behind her head. Dozens and dozens of mammals stood outside of the building, Judy recognized several of the animals.

Nick's raccoon neighbor as well as the noisy lion and the receptionist goat. Several officers were making their way through the crowd of residents, getting statements and other pieces of information. Judy recognized a few of the officers, a rhinoceros she knew to be named McHorn, and several wolves. Nick clearly recognized one of them and raced towards the gray pelt of officer Wolfard.

Wolfard was flipping through a notepad, pinching the bridge of his nose, when Nick came skidding to a halt in front of him. "Wolfard! Wolfard!" Nick shouted, drawing the wolf's attention down to the ground.

"Officer Wilde?" the timber wolf asked as he recognized the fox. "I thought you were assigned a case in Little Rodentia, what are you doing here?"

Judy came to a stop by Nick, but wasn't able to give Wolfard a greeting as Nick shouted, "I _live_ here! What's going on?"

Wolfard didn't immediately answer. "Hey, Judy," he greeted, ignoring Nick's panic. Judy nodded in return, Wolfard had always been rather informal towards her, even when she was on duty. "Do you live here too?" he asked.

Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head a resounding _no_. She wasn't sure if it was a jest or not, but Nick, still panicked, all but shouted, "Wolfard!"

"Right, sorry," he apologized, "Homicide."

The fox's eyes widened, "What?!"

"Yeah, a dead body was found in one of the apartments, hardly a half hour ago. Pretty gruesome too, I just arrived on the scene…" he was cut off before he could finish.

"Which apartment? Who was killed? When did he or she die?!" Nick asked quickly.

Wolfard blinked slowly. "I was getting to that," he grumbled. "We're having a bit of trouble IDing the body… do you happen to know the resident of apartment 215?"

Nick nodded slowly. "No… well, sort of. I know he's a badger and he just moved in a week ago… but I don't know his name or anything," he explained.

"Well… at least we have the species now," he sighed. "No one seems to know his name either. Apparently, he stuck mostly to himself, hardly ever leaving his apartment, and hardly ever talking to anyone."

"You didn't have the species?!" Judy asked, shock written across her face. Every single ZPD officer was required to recognize every single species that called Zootopia home. It was one of the first things each prospective officer was taught at the academy.

"Trust me Judy… you wouldn't be able to recognize the species either if you saw the state the body is in," Wolfard growled.

Judy felt all her muscles contract all at once in fear. _It must be really bad,_ she thought to herself. "What about the apartment records? Did you check for a name there?" Nick asked, ignoring the thought of how horrifying the murder must be.

"Yeah, we're not stupid," Wolfard sighed. "No species and the name given was a dead end… nothing more than an alias."

"Well you've gotta have something!" Nick said. "Leads? Anything?"

Wolfard shook his head. "I'm sorry… we've got nothing at the moment. All we have is a probable time of death… even then… it's not very accurate," he sighed.

Nick licked his lips slowly, trying to decide what to do. Finally, he let out a sigh and said, "Let us see the body."

Wolfard's ear flicked as he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Nick? Why would you want to see the body?!" Judy shouted in indignation.

"What? You wanted another case to work on while we waited for the lab results… why not help Wolfard with this one?" he asked.

"Nick… we don't do _homicides!_ " Judy said, taking a step back.

"The dead body we found today begs to differ."

"You guys found a dead body?" Wolfard asked, but was ignored.

"Fine… whatever," Judy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. She turned to Wolfard, "Show us the body."

Wolfard's eye twitched, _they just completely ignored me…_ but he let out a sigh and said, "Fine… follow me." He led them into the apartment, past the group of residence huddled nearby. The three of them walked through the lobby and onto the elevator, hitting the button for the second floor.

"215 is directly under my room," Nick mumbled as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Neither Wolfard nor Judy responded to him as he led the duo to the apartment in question. The door was already open, but it was dark inside.

"The CSI guys already came through, but didn't find anything important. The body hasn't been extracted either, an autopsy will probably be useless at this point," he sighed, pausing before entering the room, blocking the door so neither of them could see.

"Why would that be?" she asked, looking up at the wolf.

She could see him clench his jaws before stepping aside. "It's probably better if you see… for yourselves," he sighed. "It's not pretty… though." Nodding in confirmation, the duo stepped around him and into the apartment. Only to freeze before making it past the doorway as the stench of death hit them.

The apartment itself was the same size as Nick's, a bedroom with a living room attachment. However, instead of a kitchen, this apartment traded it for more living room space. Not that the badger had used it, the room was shockingly bare. The door to the bedroom was closed and the only piece of furniture in the room was a single couch. But that wasn't the most glaring thing.

Judy dropped to her knees, breathing heavily, and covering her mouth with her paw as she did her absolute best not to throw up. Nick stood, eyes wide and jaws agape, at the sight before him. The windows were open, though the curtains were drawn, letting in a dim light into the apartment room. A light breeze did its best to air out the apartment, but it was largely failing.

The only sound in the apartment, however, besides Judy's heavy breathing, was the subtle _drip, drip, drop_ of blood as the droplets hit the ground. Cruel claws hung from the ceiling on chains where pieces of the badger's body were trapped, like some sort of demented party streamer. _Meat hooks,_ Nick recognized the steel traps.

Wolfard was right, the body wasn't even recognizable. It had been ripped into a dozen pieces, although Nick could identify a leg or a paw, it was next to impossible to determine if it was a badger or not… as a majority of the flesh had been stripped from the muscle of the badger. Nick took a few steps forward, but paused as he was about to step into a pool of blood. The red substance had begun to seep into the floor, staining the wood permanently.

Nick sidestepped around the puddle, trying to get a better look at some of the hunks of meat. They were grouped together, making the inner body parts harder to identify, but Nick eventually found an angle that allowed him to see what he assumed to be the badger's head. And it was difficult to tell, as it looked like someone had taken out his eyes… but Nick could see teeth, and assumed that the head was in the center of the mass of body parts.

"What's the estimated time of death?" he asked softly. Wolfard stepped over Judy's still prone form and approached the fox, frown clear on his muzzle.

"A day or two ago… it's a bit difficult to determine, actually," the wolf responded.

"Well what do you have?" Nick asked, swallowing audibly. The smell was starting to get to him, he wasn't sure how much longer he could stand to be in this room. And Judy was about ready to pass out, she was just thankful she hadn't retched yet.

"Not much I'm afraid," Wolfard admitted. "We're fairly certain he wasn't killed by gunfire, as someone would've heard. The cuts on the body also look too rough to be done by some type of knife."

"Are you saying that he was _literally torn apart?_ " Nick was almost too afraid to ask.

"We haven't gotten a good look at the body yet. You'd be surprised how many animals are unwilling to step through a puddle of blood," he said sarcastically. "But we're getting an extraction team in here soon. That way we can at least have a proper look."

"That's a good idea," Nick sighed. He rubbed his temples and looked over at Judy, only to find that she was gone. He shook his head, he didn't blame her. It was tough even for him to be in this room. And he had _seen_ death like this before, he'd always do his best not to linger this long, but he _had_ some experience. To be honest, he had thought she would react this way when they found Duke earlier this morning.

"Is there anything else you need?" Wolfard asked. "I've given you pretty much everything we have… we won't know more until the extraction team comes."

"No… I think we're good," Nick sighed, turning away to walk towards the exit. But he paused when he saw Judy, still in the room, staring at the badger's bedroom door. "Judy?" he started, but stopped when he saw what she was staring at.

A huge skull was painted in blood over the bedroom door. Judy stood, hardly a foot away from the skull, trembling and breathing heavily. Nick padded over to her and gazed at the skull. "What about this? Did you catalog this?" he asked, turning back to Wolfard.

He flipped through his notebook and said, "Yeah, we noted this. I have no idea what it means though… I don't recognize the animal that skull would belong to."

"W-when did you say the estimated time of d-death was?" Judy asked quietly. She was unable to tear her field of vision away from the skull. It hypnotized her, shaking her to her core.

"A day or two ago," the wolf repeated himself. Judy did not respond, but she did clench her teeth together until it hurt. She had seen a skull like this before… though it was painted in white, not red blood. And the time of death matched up… could the killer really have just passed her by?

"Did you open the door?" Nick asked.

"Huh? Oh, no. We were going to wait until the body was extracted until we checked the other room," Wolfard answered. Judy didn't hesitate in reaching for the handle, turning it once it was firmly grasped in her paw.

The door swung open to reveal a dark room, but she stepped in nonetheless. Nick followed close behind her, scanning the walls for a light switch. Judy kept walking into the room, blindly stumbling around, until Nick hit the switch and a single lamp in the corner of the room came to life.

The room was small, even smaller than Nick's, even though the badger was probably about the same size as him. There was a window, but it was boarded up and covered with black tape to prevent light from streaming through the cracks in the board. There was a single, small bed that likely would barely be large enough for the badger.

Nick immediately went for the small dresser near the boarded-up window. Wolfard followed them into the room and decided to search the bedside table that the lamp sat on. Judy, however, headed towards one of the walls of the room, opposite of that of the boarded-up window.

The fox opened drawer after drawer, pulling out clothes left and right, searching for anything of significance. They knew next to nothing about the badger, hopefully there was something in these drawers that would reveal who the badger was… or at least what he did. But Nick found nothing of consequence. Though it was not the same story for Wolfard. "I found a laptop!" he exclaimed, pulling the slim device out of the bedside table.

How the badger had managed to store the laptop in the table was a mystery, it hardly fit, but Wolfard tossed the device onto the bed and shut the drawer. The rest of the table was empty. He opened the laptop and was immediately greeted by a black screen with a box asking for a password. "It's got a password," he explained as he hit a few keys.

"Try 'badger,'" Nick suggested as he walked over to the wolf. Wolfard gave him a strange look, but complied, typing in the word "badger." The screen flashed red before turning black once more. Password denied. He only shrugged when Wolfard gave him another look, silently asking for another password.

"I guess we'll put this in evidence then… we'll see if anyone can hack it when I get back to the precinct," Wolfard muttered, shutting the device. He held onto it while he and Nick walked over to Judy, who was pacing the length of the wall.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked, concerned that she was losing it.

"Don't you think this room is a bit… small?" she asked softly.

"Maybe," he shrugged. "So?"

"He looked to be about your size, right?" she asked. He nodded in confirmation. "Then why is his room so much smaller than yours?"

"I'm lucky?" he tried. She gave him a dry look, to which he responded with, "I have no clue. What are you getting at?"

She took a deep breath and started to feel around the wall, as if looking for some sort of switch. Wolfard and Nick watched her rub the wall with her paws, until a small portion of the wall, hardly bigger than Nick's paw, sunk in with a click. Judy blinked and stepped back as a crack appeared in the wall with a sharp _hiss._

"Fake wall," she noted, pushing on the crack as hard as she could. A large section of the wall started to move inward. Nick, seeing her struggling with the wall, added his strength to hers, easily shoving the hidden door aside. The duo stepped into the black room, Wolfard having to fold his ears flat against his head to make it through the door.

Their eyes went wide as white light flooded the previously dark room, illuminating dozens and dozens of weapons of varying caliber and purpose across the walls of the hidden room. The bedroom plus the hidden room made the entire room just slightly larger than Nick's own bedroom.

"Holy shit…" was all Wolfard could say. He had never seen an arsenal such as this before. The ZPD had a weapons storage, but most officers never even entered that room. Nick whistled, impressed by the number of weapons stored in the small room.

Judy, however, walked towards a particular item that stood out, considering that it was not a weapon. In the very center of the far wall was a military flak jacket. It was a near carbon copy of the one she had seen the mysterious mammal wearing just a day ago, despite it being designed for a four-foot-tall badger instead.

She took a few steps back, eyes wide as she attempted to understand what was going on here. This was an arsenal comparable to someone in the military… but Zootopia _had_ no military. "This'd look pretty good on me," Nick chuckled as he walked over to the flak jacket. He had taken down one of the assault rifles from the wall and was reaching for the jacket when Judy slapped his paw away.

"You're armed enough with that pistol you're packing. Besides… this is evidence," she said, crossing her arms. Grumbling, Nick returned the rifle to its spot on the wall. She shook her head at his dismayed expression, but there was still a more pressing matter of _what the hell was going on?!_

"Well… I guess we have possible motivation now," Wolfard muttered as he marveled at the weapons. "I thought it was illegal to own this many guns."

"It depends on the type of permits you have," Nick sighed. Larger mammals usually were forbidden from carrying weapons. They didn't need them, as they were plenty dangerous enough, plus it was difficult to make weapons for larger mammals. Usually the cut-off for being too large for firearms was six feet.

"Uh… yeah, sure," Wolfard muttered. "Thanks for your help, I guess… we probably wouldn't have noticed the room was too small, and thus the fake wall would've gone undiscovered without your help, Judy."

"Yeah… no problem…" she mumbled, walking towards the exit. She pushed passed Wolfard, who only gave her a strange look and picked up his radio to call in their discovery… and to speed up the arrival of the extraction team.

Nick followed Judy out of the apartment building, both doing their best not to look at the carnage they were leaving behind. "Hey… where are we going?" he asked, catching up to her as she reached the elevator.

She only gave him a blank look. "Back to your apartment… I think I've had enough police work for… today," she admitted, her voice low and her tone dull. He could only nod in agreement as they stepped into the elevator.

XXX

Judy sat on Nick's couch, looking down at her feet. The decaying smell had seemingly followed them up to Nick's apartment. In response to the smell, Nick had opened all his windows and even lit a few candles, but it didn't do much for the scent that had clung to their fur.

"Hey," she felt him tap her on her shoulder. She looked up at him to see he was offering her a pack of cigarettes. She stared blankly at the seemingly innocent package, unsure of what to do. She hesitated, but eventually pulled one of the cigarettes free from the package.

She paused once more before placing it reluctantly in her mouth. Nick leaned over with a lighter, lighting the cigarette. She breathed in and immediately coughed loudly. "Ah… that's disgusting… how do you do this?" she asked.

He placed one of the cancer sticks in his mouth and lit it as well. Breathing out, he sighed, "You get used to it… I thought this would be better than the scent of death. Plus… it's calming."

She rolled her eyes, but took another drag, doing her best not to cough. She succeeded, but she still shook her head from the awful taste. "I guess it's better than nothing…" she admitted. She bounced upwards when Nick collapsed on the couch next to her.

She glared at him, but he ignored her, blowing smoke from his nostrils as he stared at the ceiling. "Two deaths in one day… could we get any less lucky?" he sighed. She chose not to answer him, she didn't _have_ an answer for him.

The silence dragged on as they sat on the couch, staring off into space. Nick hadn't really been bothered by the first death, but he couldn't say the same for the second. It was all he could do to remain composed as he watched Judy slowly crack beside him. He knew that the first death _had_ bothered her, even if she didn't truly show it. But the second… was something else.

What Nick didn't know, however, that it wasn't just the death that was disturbing her. Sure, the first death had left her feeling helpless, lost without direction. So much so that all she could do was throw herself into her work so that she could catch the killer… but now… she _knew_ who the murderer was, and she could do _nothing_ about it.

That skull… along with the scent, would haunt her until the day she died. The fact that mystery animal was wearing that skull as she walked Judy by in the lobby yesterday left no doubts in her mind that she was guilty. But then again… the badger that lived just below Nick had a flak jacket the same as the mystery mammal. Judy shook her head, she had no clue what to think. But she knew one thing… if _anyone_ knew what was going on, it would be that mysterious mammal.

She hung her head. She didn't know what to do… or where to start. She didn't even _recognize_ that mammal's species, how was she supposed to find her? She pinched the bridge of her nose as she took a drag of her cigarette. "Nick?" she asked softly, before exhaling.

"Hmm?" he said, looking over at her.

She did not look back up at him, instead choosing to continue staring down at her feet. "Why? Why would anyone do that to an animal?" she asked.

Nick sighed as he leaned over and extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray on his coffee table. "I don't know. Duke's death… he was probably killed because he saw something he shouldn't have. As for the… badger…" he trailed off. "Anything I can come up with doesn't explain the brutality behind it…"

"Have you… seen something like this before?" she was almost afraid to know the answer. But it was too late.

"I know that… this is a mob tactic," he sighed. "I've never seen it done before, but I know that some mobsters hang their victims on meat hooks so that they can die a slow… slow… death."

"Well… he was definitely dead before they hung him on the hooks. Ripped him… l-limb from limb… before…" she stopped before she finished her sentence. She didn't want to say it aloud. She _couldn't_ say it aloud.

"This wasn't a mob hit," he sighed. "But we're made to believe this was, I think. That's what that skull was for… mobs often mark their victims so that everyone would know who they pissed off… but I don't recognize the skull."

"It's not an animal skull…" she all but whispered. "I don't recognize it either." That was a lie. She _had_ seen the skull before… but she wasn't sure if she should tell Nick that the murderer had _walked_ right passed her. She would wait until she knew what that mammal's species was before she told Nick.

"They were professionals too," he growled. "If they were able to get into the building and out undetected as well as murder a mammal without anyone else noticing. Not to mention they didn't leave any tracks of any kind… nor did they use any weapons… I doubt we'd be able to identify the mammals even _if_ we can pull bite marks from the body."

Judy nodded her head in agreement, not wishing to speak any longer on the topic. It wasn't their case. They lapsed back into silence, Judy finishing her cigarette. Finally, as the sun started to go down, Judy spoke up. "Nick… I don't want to leave," she admitted, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging herself.

"You can stay on the couch… if you want," he suggested.

"I do," she replied.

"Do you, uh… want something to eat? I think I have enough blueberries left for a pie…" he said. "I kind of feel like pie."

She finally looked up at him as he stood from the couch, ghost of a smirk on her face. "Don't you think pie seems a little too… cheerful for today?" she asked.

He returned her smirk and said, "I know… but don't you think we could use a little cheering up? I know I do…"

"Yeah… pie sounds great," she chuckled as he walked away. She watched him go, stripping off his uniform and tossing it onto the ground as he went. "Do you always leave your clothes strewn across the floor?" she asked as he was left with just his pants and a white shirt.

He made it into the kitchen before turning back to her. "Yes… is that a deal breaker?" he asked.

"As long as you don't mind me doing the same," she grinned slightly.

"Be my guest," he smirked, turning around to face the fridge. She chuckled as she started taking off her chest plate, tossing it aside along with her belt. She didn't wear an undershirt, so she didn't take off anything else.

She sat back down on the couch with a sigh. _This really is a comfortable couch,_ she thought to herself as she grabbed the remote from coffee table. Craving distraction that TV so easily provided, she flicked on the television and started channel surfing, trying to find something good.

The minutes passed them by, and before she knew it, the pie was in the oven and Nick was beside her on the couch. She finally decided on a movie to watch, though they would have to deal with commercials. " _Indiana Jones_?" Nick asked as he saw what she had found on TV.

"Yeah… you made me watch _Pup Fiction_ last time, so now you get to watch one of my favorites," she grinned, leaning back into the couch. The sun finished setting and the apartment was left dark, except for the glow from the television once again.

"And why would that be?" Nick asked as he too leaned back into the couch. He noticed Judy shifting closer to him out of the corner of his eye, but didn't comment. He propped his legs up on the coffee table, and threw one of his arms over the couch, as if inviting her closer to him.

He didn't actually expect her to accept his invitation. "Hareison Ford is from Bunnyburrow," she explained. "I've actually met him."

"Oh? Isn't he like… seventy or something?" he asked.

"Yeah… so?"

"Oh… never mind," he sighed. Then it was only the sound of the movie echoing throughout the small apartment. Nearly an hour passed before the oven dinged and Nick grinned, "Pie's done."

She moved to allow him to stand and get the pie out of the oven. It would have to cool, at least for a little while. Judy watched as Nick padded back over to her, frown suddenly gracing her features. What had upset her today? She had… forgotten. She struggled to remember, while at the same time arguing that she shouldn't be trying to remember what had upset her.

But as Nick sat down beside her, she forgot once again. She furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember, but decided that it wasn't important. She once again scooted over next to Nick. He looked down at her with a grin on his face. "Comfortable?" he asked.

She nodded, not taking her eyes off the television. She didn't expect him to pull her closer. She blinked as she felt his arm around her shoulder. "Enjoying yourself?" she looked up at him with a slight smirk.

"Oh absolutely," he admitted. "I didn't think you would get into this whole dating thing so quickly. Does this mean you forgive me for making you late today and tricking you into this whole thing?"

She thought for a moment. With the whole… ordeal today, what he had done to her had been shoved to the back of her mind. But now that he was bringing it up again… she began to wonder why. _Why was I so adamantly against this?_ she wondered. She grinned when she felt his fluffy tail wrap around her. "Yeah… I guess I forgive you," she sighed.

She could feel his grin on the back of her head, but she still didn't look away from the screen. The first movie ended, but there were two more on after it. And he was going to sit here and watch all of them with her. "But you had better wake me up on time tomorrow," she said firmly.

"Yes ma'am," Nick sighed.

"I'm serious, Nick! We'd better both be on time tomorrow!"

"I get it, I get it," he sighed, "We'll _both_ get to the precinct on time. Don't worry, Carrots… you can trust me." She snorted, but didn't have a snide comment in return. They shifted even closer together as the next movie started, the pie not quite forgotten still on the counter.

XXX

 **And there ya have it! A pretty big shift in tone from the first part to the second, but it's not the first time it's happened in this story, right? And besides, at least the shift was gradual this time. But I wanted to leave this chapter off on a lighter note… because it's only downhill from here. And, before I forget… yes, Hareison Ford is a play on Harrison Ford, not a typo.**

 **I'm a bit ashamed for all of you… none of you had any faith in Nick. You all had thought that** ** _he_** **would be blamed for the murder, but as you can see… that's not the case! But… is Judy right in that the mysterious mammal was the true murderer, or is she wrong? Well… I guess it depends what's on that laptop, right? In any case… stay tuned until next time to find out!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Toxicology:

Author's Note:

 **Yeah, last chapter ended on a lighter note than what the rest of the chapter had let on. Of course… it was still a bit depressing, hopefully. We learned quite a bit last chapter, but it's not going to be** ** _too_** **much of a factor here, in this chapter. I'm not saying you should forget the murder, the laptop, or the skull… just store that information away for later. Because Nick and Judy still have a different murder to take care of. Let's begin… please, enjoy!**

XXX

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Blindly fumbling for the alarm, Nick slapped his paw down on the clock, shutting off the infernal beeping. Laying still for a moment, he pondered actually getting up. Eventually deciding that Judy would appreciate being to work on time, his eyes fluttered open to behold the world once more.

With a loud yawn, baring all his fangs, he sat up and stretched, his back popping from the action. He didn't usually wake up this early, but he had set the alarm knowing that not only would Judy want to be _early_ , she would also want ample time to prepare. And probably have breakfast.

Thus, he set his alarm to six AM, even though their shift didn't start until eight. _I don't understand how she could stand this ungodly hour,_ he grumbled to himself as he pushed the covers aside. He stood and opened the curtains to allow light to stream into the room. Or… if it was actually bright outside, light would be allowed into his room.

Unfortunately, it was still dark outside. Not quite pitch black, but there was no sign of the sun, and the moon was still partially visible. Rolling his eyes, he slipped on a white T-shirt and padded out of his room. Even though it was winter, it was seventy degrees at all times in his apartment, and he liked to sleep without a shirt on. Something he was sure Judy wouldn't appreciate.

His grumblings halted the moment he laid eyes on her sleeping form, however. His jaws clenched together, she was _so adorable_. He had offered her his bed for the night, saying that he would sleep on the couch instead. Although he could tell she seriously considered it, she decided it would be imposing on him. He wasn't sure what gave her that impression, but he didn't push. And he kept his thoughts about her cuteness to himself… knowing that she would not appreciate them.

But, though it should still be considered a crime, he had a job to do. He walked over to her and shook her shoulder softly. "Hey, Judy," he said, "Time to wake up." He refrained from shouting, believing that she would not appreciate it.

She reacted immediately, shifting so that her purple eyes, though bleary, could regard him blankly. "Nick… what time is it?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"Six in the morning," he responded, not taking his paw off her shoulder.

"Wha? Why so early?" she asked, pulling the covers up over herself again and digging herself deeper into the couch.

He blinked. "I thought you said you wanted to be woken up on time?" he asked. Who knew she had trouble rising in the morning?

"Our shift doesn't start until _eight_ …" she growled, turning over so that her back was to him. "I usually wake up at seven thirty. Six is too early."

"Oh…" he mumbled. "I was just… trying to account for the fact that there are two of us… and breakfast, of course." He removed his paw from her shoulder and scratched the back of his neck.

"It _still_ shouldn't take us more than ten minutes to shower a piece, and I don't eat breakfast," she mumbled, her voice muffled as she pressed harder into the couch.

"You don't eat breakfast?" he asked, as if the entire idea was ludicrous.

"I value sleep more than food."

"I can't believe I have to lecture you on the benefits of a good breakfast," he chuckled, smirk rising on his muzzle.

"Cram it… I need at least another hour of sleep."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Judy," he sighed. "If you want to go back to sleep… then I'm going back to sleep… and then we'll _both_ be late for work. Again."

He could see his words caused a jolt to go through her body, as her ears rose when she heard his threat. " _Nick…_ " she growled. "I thought the deal was we would both be on time… or I wasn't coming over again."

"Yes, yes," he waved her threats away. "And that's something that I'd be willing to risk to get a proper amount of sleep. After all… sleep _is_ more valuable than even breakfast."

She tossed what he had said around in her mind before letting out a deep sigh. " _Fine,_ " she growled, throwing the covers off her and swiveling so that she sat with her legs hanging off the couch. "I'm up."

"Do I get a thank you?" Nick chuckled as she slipped off the couch. He could see a small drool spot on the pillow he had given her and couldn't help but grin.

"You're just lucky that couch is comfortable, otherwise I would have grounds to never stay over again," she sighed, stretching.

"I offered you my bed," he pointed out.

"Not on your life Nick Wilde."

"What? I didn't say I would be _sleeping in it with you_. I would take the couch instead, obviously," he grinned.

"Still a 'no,' Nick," she growled as she stormed towards the bathroom.

"Aww… why not?"

"Just… just drop it," she sighed, pausing before entering the bathroom. "Just make sure you have a pot of coffee ready by the time I step out of here."

"I thought you weren't supposed to give caffeine to rabbits."

"I'm an exception," she growled, shutting the door before he could make another comment. Chuckling to himself and shaking his head, he walked over to his kitchen area and started the pot of coffee she requested.

He didn't use it very much, mostly because he could get coffee at the station, but he still kept materials to make himself a pot whenever he needed an extra jolt before a late shift. With the coffee brewing in the background, he turned instead to his fridge to see what he could make for breakfast. Even if she said she didn't eat breakfast… he would just have to change her mind.

 _Hmm… she probably wouldn't appreciate bacon and eggs,_ he mumbled to himself. It wasn't like it was _real_ bacon and eggs. Well, the eggs were real, but the bacon was actually synthetic, though he had it on good authority it _did not taste like real bacon_ … it was still delicious. In the end, he decided upon pancakes, as he happened to have the ingredients to make those.

By the time Judy exited the shower, he had two tall stacks of pancakes for the both of them. She raised an eyebrow when she saw the two stacks and asked, "Pancakes?" She hopped up on one of the stools at the counter.

"Yup… here," he said, placing the plate in front of her. He handed her a knife, fork, butter, and syrup with a grin. She gave him a dry look before going about buttering the fluffy cakes. He nodded in satisfaction and poured her a cup of coffee, setting it in front of her.

She didn't give a verbal response, but she nodded her thanks and she stuffed her mouth with a piece of one of the pancakes. Nick walked around behind her, carrying his own stack of pancakes and cup of coffee, before sitting down next to her. He heard her swallow audibly before sighing, "Fine… these are pretty good."

He chuckled before buttering up his own pancakes as she devoured hers beside him. He skipped the syrup, deciding against the sticky substance. He chewed on a piece of his pancakes before saying, "You know-"

He paused to swallow when she glared at him. "You know," he repeated after his mouth was no longer filled with food, "We probably have time to stop by your apartment so you can change into a clean uniform… how many days have you worn that? Three?"

She stiffened. "Is… is it _that_ noticeable?" she asked, finishing off her pancakes. She was already feeling more awake, and she still had half a cup of coffee to go.

"Well… not right now, the soap you used is stronger, but I could tell last night," he admitted. "Like I said, we have time for you to change uniforms."

"Yeah… that sounds like a plan," she sighed. They sat in silence as Nick finished his breakfast. Judy took a deep breath before hopping off the stool. "Thanks for letting me stay here," she said as her feet touched the floor.

Nick stood, grabbed all the dirty dishes, and walked towards the sink. "You're always welcome here, Carrots."

XXX

Hearing the chime of the front doors opening, Clawhauser looked up to see Nick holding the door for Judy. Raising an eyebrow, he glanced at the clock on his phone and noted that they were twenty minutes early, not to mention the fact they were here at the same time. His mind instantly jumped to the only conclusion he could come up with as Nick and Judy, who was clad in a fresh uniform, approached his desk.

Tail twitching excitedly, Clawhauser let out an excited shriek, "O, m, goodness, it's finally happening!" The duo sent him identical glares of disdain, though he ignored them.

"What's finally happening, Benny-boy?" Nick asked, arching an eyebrow. The question was in vain, however, Nick knew _exactly_ what the fat cheetah was talking about.

"You two," the cheetah grinned, "Finally hooking up!" Judy stiffened, the form she and Nick had signed was supposed to _dispel_ the rumors… not make them worse.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Judy growled, crossing her arms. Nick gave her a hurt look, but made no verbal comment. If she wasn't ready to tell anybody… then that was her choice.

"Oh?" Clawhauser raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? It looks to me like the two of you are finally dating."

"I can assure you that's not the case," she replied immediately, not giving any ground to the chubby cheetah. "I don't know what made you draw that conclusion, but I suggest you drop it."

"Oh, but Judy… I have proof to back up my claims!" the cheetah grinned.

"Proof?" she echoed. "Is there another picture I should know about?" She turned to glare up at Nick, but he shook his head rapidly.

"Don't look at me, fluff."

"No, not a picture," Clawhauser shook his head. "I have something better!" He turned to his computer and typed a few things before swinging the monitor around. "Look what I had to file yesterday."

Her eyes widened when she saw the Interpersonal Office Relationship form she and Nick signed yesterday. "S-so?" she asked, stuttering slightly, but her body language remained firm. "Bogo made us sign that after the whole… picture fiasco."

"I know, that's what I thought too… until I saw the two of you walk in together," Clawhauser smirked.

"I was tired of him being late," Judy argued.

"Oh? No, that's not right, it's more complex than that. He's been here for more than three months and you've never _really_ complained about him being late all the time… after all, you make money off of it, right?" he chuckled. "I know that Nick would never be on time unless someone went and woke him up… and I know _you_ would never go and wake him up… unless you were already there."

"Actually, I was the one to wake _her_ up," Nick grinned. He wasn't sure why Judy was being so stubborn, but there was no way she could convince Clawhauser otherwise. And it wasn't like he _wasn't right._

" _Nick!_ "

"Aha!" Clawhauser exclaimed.

"Sorry, Carrots… he's got us all figured out," the fox shrugged. "Good try, though." His words didn't stop her ears from dropping flat against the back of her head and tapping the ground hard with her foot, seething with rage. If there was one animal she _didn't_ want to know, it was Clawhauser.

But it was far too late for that. "That's two days in a row you slept over at his apartment, Judy," the cheetah grinned. "Did you move in with him or something?"

"What? _No!_ " she shouted indignantly. Nick only burst out laughing next to her.

"But you _are_ dating," Clawhauser pressed, leaning over his desk just a bit so he could better see Judy's reaction.

"Yes," her voice was but a whisper, so quiet that he barely heard it over the laughing fox next to her. But hear it he did.

"Yes! I knew it! I knew it from the beginning, I called it!" the overexcited cheetah threw both of his arms into the air in victory. "Why'd ya take so long to admit it, Judy?"

Judy scowled as her eye twitched. "Because it wasn't true until yesterday," she growled, Nick's laughter had finally died down next to her.

Clawhauser only grinned and turned to the fox. "So… have you thought about tying the knot?" he asked, causing the both Nick and Judy to stare at him with wide eyes, shaking their heads rapidly. Neither of them had even _begun_ to think of that. "Or were you planning on tying a _different_ knot first?" Clawhauser smirked, making a lewd gesture with his paws.

Nick burst out laughing again, but Judy blanched from the bluntness of his suggestion. She stood, stunned, for several seconds before turning slowly to glare at Nick, who had doubled over from laughter. A heavy red tinge settled on her cheeks, and she could feel the heat in her ears as Clawhauser laughed along with the fox. _Okay, that's it,_ she growled internally, launching herself upwards, and grabbing ahold of the fat cheetah's desk.

The cheetah in question turned to grin at her, but she grabbed his collar and forced his face closer to hers, ears flat against the back of her head, as she glared at him with all the hatred she could muster. She had managed to pull him off the ground and drag him practically over the counter. "Uh… Judy?" he asked, fear flashing through his eyes from her intense, scathing glare.

"Listen to me, and listen to me good, Clawhauser," she hissed. "That form we signed is supposed to _prevent_ you from interfering in our relationship, do you understand? That means _no more suggestions like that_ … or I will go straight to the chief!"

He gulped and nodded slowly. He and the chief were on good terms… but that didn't mean he wouldn't punish him. And he didn't doubt her threat for even a second. "Good," she growled, letting go of his collar, allowing his feet to touch the ground once again.

Nick's laughter came to a halt as he and Clawhauser watched her storm towards the Bullpen. _Well… at least she's angry at Clawhauser, and not me,_ he sighed to himself. "That still doesn't mean I wasn't right," the cheetah grinned.

"I suppose so," Nick mumbled, still staring at her retreating form. "You really rattled her, though… how did you figure out she had stayed the night at my place?"

"What do you peg me for, Nick? I was a detective once, you know," he chuckled, sitting back down in his chair.

"You? A detective? Now why don't I buy that?" Nick smirked up at him.

The cheetah shrugged. "Believe what you want… doesn't make it any less true. Just like you and Judy," he chuckled.

"Right…" the fox sighed. "In any case… I should probably go after her." He took off towards the Bullpen, no longer wishing to speak to the chubby cheetah. Clawhauser only shook his head and went back to his computer.

Nick climbed into the chair he and Judy both sat in. He resisted the urge to wrap an arm around her, not only because the chief wouldn't appreciate the "public display of affection," but he knew Judy wouldn't either. She was still seething, arms crossed, and glaring straight ahead at the edge of the table.

"Well… I guess it won't be long now until everyone knows," Nick observed, shifting in the seat, trying to get comfortable. "You really scared the shit out of him, though."

"I know… at least he'll stick to the truth," she sighed, finally letting go of her anger. She seemed to deflate next to him, letting out a deep breath.

"At least there's that," he echoed.

"I was hoping he would be the _last_ animal to know… that way he didn't have anyone to tell," she growled. "Nor any reason to _twist_ the truth."

He could only shrug. "He's an incurable gossip and a perv, sue him," he shook his head, imagining the absurdity of the court proceedings _that_ would generate. She snorted, but offered no other comment.

The two sat in silence for a moment, as they were the only ones present in the Bullpen, still being ten minutes early, before a smirk rose on Nick's muzzle. "But you know… you moving in with me might be something to start thinking about," he chuckled.

Her head whipped around to glare up at him, her eyes narrowing as she did. He gulped slightly as she hissed, "I'm still angry at you for folding under pressure."

"Oh… sorry about that," he said.

"Besides…" she trailed off, her glare vanishing and a sly smirk rising on her face. "Who says that _I_ will be moving into _your_ apartment… what if I'd rather it be the other way around?"

"Wha?" he managed as he thought about her _tiny_ apartment with noisy neighbors and thin walls. He much preferred his apartment with quiet neighbors and thick walls…

She got a chuckle out of his panicked expression and she shook her head. "I'm _kidding_ … I don't think the two of us would even fit in my apartment. But… maybe having a few spare uniforms at your place might not be a bad idea," she admitted.

"Actually, that does sound like a good idea," Nick grinned, noting that she sounded like she wanted to stay over more often. "Maybe you should also take something to sleep in… you know, so you don't have to sleep in your uniform." She rolled her eyes as the first few officers started to make their way into the Bullpen, but didn't protest, as he had a point.

XXX

 _Rock,_

 _Paper,_

 _Scissors,_

 _Shoot!_

"Gah!" Nick growled, grabbing his wrist tightly as if his paw had betrayed him. Paper was his go-to first play, as most animals picked rock first. After all, the chant of _rock, paper, scissors_ started with rock, it was a subtle psychological influence on the first move of any player.

But Judy was smarter than that, picking scissors instead, and defeating his paper. "Yes!" she shouted with mirth as she gave him a triumphant grin. "I win! See ya in a few hours, loser!"

Nick grumbled something inaudible, but trudged towards the exit of the precinct. He had lost, which meant he had to go and wait, likely for _hours_ , to pick up the warrant he had ordered yesterday. And then he would have to go, alone, to show said warrant to the owners of the tapes they needed to watch.

Judy, on the other hand, had gotten the much easier, faster, and arguably less boring job of picking up the autopsy report from the lab. She barely had to go twenty meters from the precinct and she wouldn't have to wait more than a few minutes in order to speak to the doctor who performed the autopsy.

Grinning to herself, she made her way out of the precinct and towards the crime lab. She and Nick and decided to split the tasks to cover more ground, even though they weren't supposed to split up. But, they would argue if Bogo asked, it didn't take two officers to enforce a warrant or read an autopsy report.

She entered the lab and was quickly greeted by the lioness doctor she was looking for. "Would you like to see the body?" the lioness asked, motioning towards a door that undoubtedly housed dozens of deceased, cut-up bodies.

"No… just the report, please," she said, clenching her jaw together. She had seen enough death for quite some time.

The doctor shrugged and handed over the clipboard she was carrying to Judy. The rabbit looked over the clipboard, flipping a few of the pages, but was having trouble making out the doctor's handwriting. Or what anything actually was… she had never read an autopsy report before, as she wasn't supposed to be dealing with dead bodies.

The lioness, sensing Judy's confusion, leaned over and flipped the page back over. "At first glance, the weasel died of suffocation. Several of his ribs are broken, and the rest are fractured, and there are several other signs of asphyxiation, but…" the lioness trailed off.

"But what?" Judy asked, raising an eyebrow, and handing the report back to the lioness… it was better off in the doctor's paws than her own.

"Well, several things, actually," the lioness said, flipping the page again. "For one thing, the amount of pressure it would take to do that kind of damage… it looks like a particularly large polar bear had squeezed him rather hard, but several things don't add up with that picture."

"Polar bears wouldn't be able to get into Little Rodentia," Judy growled, understanding where the doctor was coming from.

"That's the most glaring thing, however, the pressure was applied uniformly, something that no mammal could do with their bare paws," the lioness finished.

"So, it was some sort of… machine?" Judy asked, trying to come to a logical conclusion.

The lioness only shrugged, as if to say she didn't know. "I don't think it was a machine… a machine would've left more internal damage and external indentations. I have no clue what caused the strangulation… but I'm not sure if _that_ is what killed him," she explained.

"Why would that be?"

"That's why I wanted to show you the body, officer Hopps, there is something that you might want to see," she said, once again gesturing towards the back door. Sighing, Judy relented and allowed the lioness to lead her to the autopsy room.

The door shut behind them with a loud _bang_. In the center of the room was a large operating table. Judy ground her teeth together and took deep breaths as she recognized the carcass of Duke Weaselton on the table. Not that it was easy to identify, however.

It was standard procedure to shave all mammals before they were cut open. It was a bit… odd to see the weasel without all his fur, and Judy couldn't help but imagine herself in the same situation. All her fur shaved off and lying on a cold, steel table, about to be cut open. The only saving grace to that scenario was the fact that she would already be dead, of course.

There was also the fact that the weasel's chest cavity had been opened up and several of his organs had been removed. She swallowed hard as the lioness presented her with a stool to stand on so that she may look at the body properly. Hesitating, she climbed onto the stool and immediately closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

The lioness waited patiently for the officer to open her eyes and look at the body again. She was used to this sort of behavior, all officers, even the toughest lion or tiger, blanched like that at the sight of their first autopsy. She reserved judgment and comments, however, towards the officers when they did, only giving them her scathing tongue if they had made a pass at her before they saw the body.

Eventually, Judy opened her eyes and regarded the dead weasel once again. "What is it you wanted to show me?" she sighed.

"Do you notice anything… out of the ordinary?" the lioness asked, turning the body so that she could get a better look. She grimaced, but looked over the body the best she could.

"Besides the gaping hole in his chest… no, nothing of note," she growled, wondering if the doctor was just toying with her.

"Look here," the lioness explained, slipping on a pair of plastic gloves, and turning the weasel's head to give Judy a better view of his neck. Judy blinked as she stared at the furless skin, unsure of exactly what she was seeing.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing at the weasel's neck.

"That's an excellent question… as I do not actually know the answer to that question," the lioness explained. "But, I assume, whatever these _are_ is what killed this weasel."

"Is there any way to test them… to see if we can find out what they _are?_ " Judy asked as the doctor let go of the weasel's neck.

"I'm running a toxicology at the moment… it could be awhile until I get the report back, though," the lioness explained.

"How long will it take?" Judy sighed.

"It could take a few hours."

Judy let out an exasperated sigh. Of course it would take a few hours. It was only fair, considering Nick would be busy for the next few. At least they would be done at the same time, and she wouldn't have to wait for him. "Fine… I've got nothing better to do for the next few hours, I'll just wait here," she sighed, walking away from the body, two small, curious holes present on the side of the weasel's neck.

XXX

 **And yet another chapter down! Well… hopefully I've managed to shift the tone back a bit. This time we started with the lighter stuff and got just a bit darker… not quite as dark as how the last chapter started, though. But… well… we're getting there. In any case, hopefully this will provide the last clue needed to figure out what has been taking those rodents… and what killed Duke. Yes, I know toxicology reports can take weeks to run… humor me, please? In any case… stay tuned until next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Endall:

Author's Note:

 **So… I guess I'll just address a few of the reviews here, because I got some interesting ones…**

 **So, some of you may have noticed last chapter, Nick explained that he had some friends who claimed the synthetic bacon was not as good as real bacon. Some of you might realize that implies Nick has friends who have had** ** _real_** **bacon… which might be a bit fucked up. But, see, the thing is, Nick's friend is** ** _me_** **and** ** _my_** **opinion is that fakeon is** ** _not_** **as good as real bacon.**

 **Second, several of you have decided that** ** _vampire_** **was the correct answer based on those two small holes on Duke's neck. And I would just like to say, vampire is incorrect. There are no vampires in this story… sorry if I got your hopes up.**

 **On another note… I would like to apologize for not posting last week. I, uh… had to rewrite the chapter… and I've been putting it off all week… but it's obviously fine now. Hopefully nothing like this happens again. In any case… please, enjoy!**

XXX

 _Tap! Tap! Tap!_ Wolfard pounded on the keyboard of the laptop taken from the dead badger's apartment. He had a habit of slamming on the keys as he typed, one that annoyed everyone around him. Luckily, he was alone, sitting in his little closet office as he tried to break through the security systems of the laptop.

He had never seen anything like this. At first glance… it was nothing more than an ordinary, silver laptop. However, a more thorough investigation revealed this laptop to _not_ be on the market. It had no distinguishing features that might point towards any major tech company, nor any marks that would have pointed towards the removal of said identifying features.

The laptop seemed brand new, Wolfard was beginning to suspect that he was the first to actually use the device. There were no claw marks on the keys, nor pawprints anywhere else on the device to identify it having ever been used. Not even the screen was smudged, in even the slightest.

Wolfard continued to tap away at the keyboard, guessing password after password. He would have given up if he thought the laptop was completely new, but he figured if there was a password on it… there had to be _something_ of note worth protecting. He paused as thoughts of, _what if this was planted at the crime scene,_ ran through his mind. He waved those thoughts away. _All the more reason to crack the code,_ he figured.

Any officer who would pass him by, before flattening their ears from his loud typing, would have wondered why the wolf officer wasn't attempting to use a decryption program, or trying to hack into the laptop, or booting it up in safe mode, or even using a program that tried random passwords for the cop… anything other than what the officer was actually doing. Typing in random words and hoping for the best.

But, as Wolfard would explain to the befuddled officers that would ask him this, if anyone _had_ actually wandered passed him and wondered what he was doing, he _had_ tried all those things. Several decryption programs he had tried only ended up running and then ending immediately afterwards, having accomplished nothing. Although he wasn't the best hacker on the planet, he had tried that as well… only to find the laptop impenetrable. He had tried rebooting the laptop, only to find there _was_ no safe mode to speak of, and even shutting down the entire device didn't reset the password. _What the hell is this thing?_ he wondered as he typed in another word, only for that to be rejected too.

Several theories ran through his mind as he attempted another word. He was just reading through the dictionary at this point, having made it all the way to _absurd_. A piece of technology _this_ heavily protected could only be owned by someone of high-ranking authority… who had secrets to protect. But that only raised more questions. What was this laptop doing in that badger's apartment, a badger that happened to be a John Doe, no less?

That badger's murder was still weighing on his mind as well. The weapons found in that secret room only seemed to imply that the badger was military… which might explain why he had such a laptop to begin with, but it didn't explain the fact that Zootopia _had_ no military. _Unless he's some sort of foreign force,_ Wolfard sighed.

This was clearly out of his league, he wasn't even sure why he was bothering with this anymore. The badger was a John Doe, the teeth and claw marks on his deceased body pulled up no matches, and the laptop was a dead end… under normal circumstances he would just toss the laptop aside and consider this case closed. That's what his partner had done.

But something still didn't sit right with the wolf cop. Which would be why continued to fervently pound another word into the keyboard. Once again, the screen flashed red and denied the word. He let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair, fingers aching from all the typing he had been doing. "You haven't cracked that yet?" a voice sounded beside him, causing the wolf cop to flick his ears and turn to see no one standing there, looking over his shoulder.

Blinking a few times, Wolfard looked down to see officer Wilde giving him an amused look. "Ah… no," the wolf admitted, swiveling in his chair to face the fox, and mentally preparing for officer Wilde's jests.

Nick only snorted. Of course, the wolf couldn't break into the device… he was surprised Wolfard hadn't howled in frustration yet. Veiling a smirk, he asked, "How long have you been trying?"

"I've been tapping in words for the past few hours now… uh…" the wolf trailed off, glancing at a clock on the desk he was using, "Oh… five hours."

 _Waste of five hours,_ the fox sighed. "Surely you have better things to do… I heard that case was closed," he said, crossing his arms.

"Not really… the chief hasn't given me anything new, so I figured I might as well keep working on this," Wolfard explained, scratching the back of his head. "I… is the case officially closed? I thought my partner had just given up…"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know… I had just heard it had been closed. If you've been working on it for the past five hours… it's probably not going to open," he said.

"Yeah… you're probably right…" the wolf sighed, looking down at his feet dejectedly. "What are you doing?" he mumbled.

"Oh, I managed to pull a few security tapes, I'm taking them over to me and officer Hopps' office to watch 'em," the fox explained.

Wolfard's ear flicked again as he gave the fox a strange look. "Officer… Hopps?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think I've ever actually heard you refer to her as such before…"

Nick rolled his eyes loudly. "Yeah, I know. But it's a requirement of those interpersonal relationship forms the chief had me and Hopps sign," he sighed. "I don't like it, but it's a small price to pay."

"Interpersonal relationship forms? Why'd ya have to sign those?" the wolf asked.

"You haven't heard yet? I finally got Hopps to date me," Nick couldn't help but gloat. It did feel good hearing those words coming from his mouth.

"Ah, well, congratulations, then. And you don't have to worry about me reporting to Bogo… you can call her Carrots like I know you so desperately want to," Wolfard grinned just as widely as the fox.

"Thanks, it's a stupid rule, and I'm glad Carrots isn't actually enforcing it. But, ya never know who's going to be a stickler or not," the fox shrugged.

"I hear that," Wolfard snorted. The two lapsed into silence, grins still on their muzzles before the timber wolf shook his head and said, "Well, I wouldn't want you to keep Judy waiting. And good luck with her, by the way."

Nick snorted and nodded, smirk wide on his face. "Yeah, thanks… I'll need it," he said. He grabbed ahold of the TV set he had been pulling with him, a TV set that Wolfard hadn't even noticed the fox was dragging along with him. _So, that's why he's down here,_ Wolfard noted. His little closet office was underground, far away from everyone else. He and his partner liked it quiet when they worked, and didn't mind the small space, nor how far away the office was from the others.

Nick paused before he got too far away from Wolfard, however. "Hey… try meat hooks," he recommended before setting off again. The timber wolf blinked as the fox rounded the corner and disappeared. That seemed a bit random…

But… he would never turn down a bit of help. And, no matter how crazy the fox seemed, he was usually right. Wolfard turned back to the computer and tried _meat hooks,_ no spaces. Denied. "Or maybe he's just insane," Wolfard mumbled, glaring at the screen.

"Maybe who's insane?" the voice of his partner filled his ears, causing him to perk up immensely. He turned to see the female arctic wolf enter the small office, shutting the door behind her.

"Oh, just officer Wilde," Wolfard answered, unable to stop his tail from wagging as she sat down at the desk beside his, slapping a file down on it as she did.

"Oh… him," she mumbled. "Yeah, just crazy. Whatever he said to you, I suggest you ignore."

"Too late for that, I'm afraid," the timber wolf admitted. "It didn't work, though."

The arctic wolf paused and turned to Wolfard. "Are you still on that laptop?" she asked, putting her paws on her hips.

"Hey, leave no case unsolved! And this laptop is still a mystery."

"Who cares… I already closed the case. A badger John Doe murdered for no reason… as long as we don't see another murder that fits that MO, it doesn't matter… we'd never be able to catch the killer," his partner argued.

"Killers… there were definitely more than one," he fired back.

"Like I said, _who cares?_ " she shrugged. "The only thing I could smell in that room was cigarettes, it doesn't matter if there was one killer or a dozen, they were professionals. We'll _never_ catch them. Besides… we have a different case to work on."

"We do?" he raised an eyebrow, finally setting the laptop aside.

"Yeah, from Bogo himself," she growled. "Is that enough to get you off this badger case?"

"Yeah, yeah, just tell me what it's about."

"Uh… it looks like theft… wow… that's a big number," she mumbled, glancing at the case file.

"What? Let me see!" he said, snatching the file from her paws. "Woah… that _is_ a big number."

"Well, when you rob a man like Mr. Big, you must be after quite a pretty penny," she said, smirking slightly. "And you must be pretty good, too… if he's coming to _us_ for help."

"Aye," he mumbled. "But one hundred and fifty-eight million is… well… _a lot a lot._ "

"And he's willing to make a hefty ' _donation_ ' if we're willing to… ah… _bend_ the rules a bit," she grinned.

" _Charlotte!_ " Wolfard exclaimed, dropping the case file onto the desk. "You know we can't do that!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" she burst out laughing. "You should've seen the look on your face, though. No, he only wants this to be done as quickly as possible, but I assume we aren't the _only_ ones looking for his cash."

"Yeah… probably not…" Wolfard sighed. He leaned back in his chair. "So… do we go talk to him? Do we just… start looking for any suspiciously large transactions?"

"We aren't going to be getting anything more from him, I'm afraid. He said he was hacked, so it looks like we're just going to be doing some tracing, and seeing if we can come up with anything there," she explained.

The timber wolf let out a groan. Of course… more computer jargon. "How much time do we have left on our shift? I'm about sick of computers today…" he muttered, slapping a paw over his eyes for dramatic effect.

The white wolf only rolled her eyes. "We have about an hour left… I guess we don't have to start now… but… you know I'd rather get to this hacker before Mr. Big does," she growled.

"Yeah, yeah… first thing when we get here tomorrow," Wolfard promised. He let out a yawn as he leaned back even further in his swivel chair, "I'd just like to get some sleep."

"Oh? Rough day for officer Wolfard?" she grinned.

"You don't know the half of it," he chuckled in return.

"Would a deep kiss help you get through the rest of the day?" her grin widened.

"Wha?!" he all but cried out, chair nearly falling over as he waved his arms about in an effort to retain his balance. Once the wheels hit the ground again, he turned to glare at her. "What did I tell you about joking like that?" he growled.

She burst out laughing again. "That your reaction is priceless and I should do it more often?" she giggled. His glare hardened, but he eventually let out a sigh. He could never stay mad at her for long, and he couldn't stop his blasted tail from wagging with a mind of its own. He very much _would_ like a kiss from her to help him get through the rest of the day. But he knew she was only joking…

"Yeah, well it stops being funny after the hundredth time," he growled, crossing his arm. _Goddamn it, tail… stop wagging!_ he mentally screamed when she glanced at his tail, the cursed traitor still ignoring his orders.

"Do you ever think I stopped joking by the hundredth time?" she asked.

He blinked at her. "Wha?" he asked dumbly once again, before his eyes narrowed. "Oh come on, that's cruel and unusual treatment, officer!" She was kidding… once again.

"Perhaps," she sighed. "In any case, I heard that officer Hopps and Wilde signed office interpersonal relationship forms… and that it was working out fairly well for them."

"So I heard," he echoed. _Now she's just messing with me…_ he sighed internally.

"I also heard that Clawhauser almost got mauled by Hopps earlier today. That would've been interesting to watch. _And_ I heard that it made that donut loving idiot _finally_ shut up," she snickered.

"Really? He never shuts up," Wolfard mumbled. He remembered how long the fat cheetah had teased him and _his_ partner, so much so that by the time Judy and Nick showed up that the timber wolf had wanted to tear the cheetah's throat out. But the fat cheetah had focused instead on the fox and bunny combo, leaving him alone, after nearly four months of relentless gossip.

 _Oh shit… is he going to come back to me now?_ the thought ran rampant throughout his mind as his partner only chuckled, "I doubt he'll be in the mood for gossip any time soon." As if knowing exactly what was going through her partner's head.

"You haven't known him for as long as I have," Wolfard muttered. "It'll take more than a temperamental rabbit to scare it out of him for any more than a day… at best. He would only blanch at the chief's hooves… which would mean that he'll have a new topic ready by the end of my shift." She only giggled in response, snatching the case file back. _He's so dense,_ she sighed internally.

XXX

Judy's ears swiveled as she heard her office door open and the sound of squeaky wheels. Raising an eyebrow, she turned to see Nick dragging an old-fashioned television set into the room. _Right, the tapes,_ she realized when the TV stopped behind her, as her desk faced a wall. She swiveled in her chair to face Nick and the television. "I take it you got tapes," she said.

"You know it, Fluff," he chuckled, pressing the power button on the TV, causing the screen to blink on, though no image presented itself. He had yet to actually put one of the tapes into the VCR. "I'm just surprised the 'tapes' are _actual_ tapes," he chuckled.

"I'm surprised the ZPD still had a VCR," she returned his chuckle, leaning back in her chair, and crossing her arms.

"Some animals find it hard to throw things away. In this case, it's a good thing," he said. "Are ya ready, Carrots? You _really_ need to see these tapes."

"Have you watched them already?" she asked, frowning at him.

"On a screen about half the size of my paw," he admitted. "But… if I saw what I _think_ I saw… you just need to see it for yourself."

"Well hurry up, I have a lead of my own to tell you," she grinned as he finally put the first tape into the VCR and hit 'play.' Nick grabbed the remote and his chair, dragging it over next to Judy's. He sat down and hit the fast-forward button to send them to the proper time.

"There… any minute now…" Nick mumbled as he stopped fast-forwarding. Judy blinked as she stared at the screen. It depicted a simple street from the perspective of one of the office buildings. The street was lined with buildings and she could see one of the tubes the rodents used off to the side of the screen. In the very center of the screen, on the opposite side of the street than the building the camera was positioned on, was a bus stop bench.

"And… now," the fox said just as a shadow appeared on the screen. "Boom. Do you recognize him, Carrots?" Judy blinked a few times as the mammal walked onto the screen. It wasn't Duke, it was a gerbil she didn't immediately recognize.

But her eyes widened as more of the gerbil made it onto the screen as she realized who it was. "That's… that's one of the missing mammals," she muttered as the gerbil continued his same, almost meandering pace towards the other side of the screen.

"Yeah, it is. But hold on, it gets weirder," Nick said as another shadow appeared on screen. A weasel that both recognized to be Duke crept onto the screen, very carefully tailing the gerbil. He stuck to the shadows, only peaking, or moving when he was sure the gerbil wouldn't notice.

But the gerbil never did notice, he seemed oblivious to Duke's presence. "So… Duke is still a suspect?" Judy asked, raising an eyebrow. This was not what she was expecting to see.

"I don't think so," Nick answered. "Look, he's just following the gerbil. I don't know what he's doing in Little Rodentia, whatever he _was_ doing was probably illegal anyways, but I don't think he's responsible for _all_ these mammals' disappearances."

"What about the other tapes?" she asked.

"More of the same, I'm afraid. The only real other thing of note is that Duke eventually stops trying to remain inconspicuous, even walking practically directly behind the gerbil, yet he never notices the weasel," he shrugged.

"That's still suspicious, though. What about the other missing mammals? Any of them eve show up?" she asked, letting out a sigh. The tapes prove nothing, unfortunately.

"Nope, just that gerbil. I checked what little information we had gotten at the crime scene and, sure enough, he was the last one to leave," he explained. "Duke must've noticed him leaving, thought it was strange, and then followed him…"

"Then he saw something he wasn't supposed to see," Judy growled, turning back to her computer. "That's where I come in, I believe. Have you heard of _miracle painkiller_ known as Endall?"

"Isn't that the drug that claims to be twenty times more powerful than morphine?" he asked.

"It doesn't _claim_ to be stronger, it _is_ twenty times stronger," she responded.

"Isn't it also only supposed to be used for the most serious pain… you know, only something morphine couldn't help with?"

"Yeah… only hospitals are allowed to use Endall, and they only use it on three things. To eliminate the suffering of a dying mammal, extremely serious burn victims, and life-threatening internal damage… like fractured skull, being shot in the lung, or nearly being cut in half with a edged weapon," she listed off from the web page she had been reading.

"Okay then… so why are you bringing it up now?" he asked, leaning over to look at the web page.

"One of the key ingredients in Endall was found in Duke's blood," she explained, gesturing towards the toxicology report she had been given. "It's a small protein called Ohanin."

"So… he was killed by eating too much Endall?" the fox asked, not seeing where the rabbit was going with this.

"If you would let me finish…" she growled. "First, Endall is controlled by hospitals only, you can't get it anywhere else, second, there have never been any deaths attributed to _too much Endall_. Third… Ohanin wasn't the only thing found in his blood… it's just the only thing we could identify."

"So you're looking for where this protein comes from, I assume?"

"I've been trying to trace exactly where Ohanin comes from… but everyone is so secretive about where they've been getting it," she grumbled, continuing to scroll through the web page.

"Have you tried looking at the manufacturer's page?" he suggested.

She turned and shot him a tired look before saying, "Of course I already tried that. The manufacturer's page _doesn't even list_ Ohanin as one of the ingredients to their drug! It's hidden under a compound known as XCV108B, but I did a chemical comparison to that compound and Ohanin and, sure enough, exact match."

"Well… huh… I don't know what to tell you," the fox shrugged. "What are you trying now?"

"I'm trying to see if the protein is found in nature," she answered, reaching the end of the page she was reading. "So far, without any success. I can't find it in any plants or fruit of any kind."

"What about animals?" he asked.

"I don't know of any mammal that could secrete Ohanin," she grumbled.

"What if it's not a mammal?" he asked. She arched her eyebrow again, turning to give him a dry look. "Hey, I'm just saying that mammals aren't the only animals on the planet. Maybe Ohanin is secreted by a reptile… or an amphibian… or something."

"Fine," she muttered, clicking on the search bar, and typing in the query. She fidgeted in her seat as she waited for an answer. Finally, her slow internet connected and pulled up a couple hundred search results. She clicked on the first one.

"Well?" Nick asked, not having a clear view of the screen from the angle he was looking over her shoulder at. "Any hits?"

"Yeah, a few, actually," she muttered. _Of course he's right,_ she sighed internally. "It's looking like 'snake' is our best bet."

"What kind of snake?" he asked, cracking his neck.

"Doesn't say, just says some snake venom has Ohanin in it. I guess it makes sense… I've heard of snake venom having medical uses," she said. "Still doesn't explain why the makers of Endall don't want anyone to know what goes into their drug, though."

"Another mystery for another time… we know what killed Duke, though," he sighed, "Snakebite."

"We still don't know what _type_ of snake, though," she rolled her eyes. "Or what sort of connection Duke's death and the missing mammals have."

"Well the tapes prove that, don't they?" Nick asked. "Duke was following one of the missing mammals, and he was killed by a snake… I'd say some sort of snake is taking these rodents."

"That makes sense," she conceded.

"Well… it sounds like we've got a snake on the loose… and I know _just_ who to ask for help!" Nick grinned.

"Oh? Who?"

"I know a guy by the name of Dr. Tavi, he knows _everything_ there is to know about snakes, he owns a store on the south side where you can actually buy one," he explained.

"Why would anyone want to buy a snake?" she asked, unable to stop herself from cringing. She had never run into a snake before, but she had lost a few family members to those sneaky bastards.

"They're easy to care for and they make you look cool," he snickered. "Personally, I'd like to own a snake… but they can be quite expensive."

Judy rolled her eyes as she followed Nick out of their office. They left the precinct and climbed into their vehicle, intent on visiting this Dr. Tavi. "What sort of species is Dr. Tavi?" she asked as he started the cruiser.

"Mongoose," was the simple answer as he pulled out of the parking space and headed towards the south side of town.

XXX

 **I think we'll save them meeting Dr. Tavi for next chapter. So… there are a lot of answers in this chapter, but a lot is still hidden. We figure out what killed Duke and who took the missing mammals (though we don't yet know** ** _how_** **it was done), and what those two holes and Duke's neck were. Those of you who know it, Dr. Tavi is based off of a children's story about a mongoose called Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, I wasn't sure if everyone knew of it or not… otherwise I would've just not told you that he was a mongoose, and let you all connect the dots.**

 **So, Endall is not a fictional drug, actually. There** ** _is_** **a drug that is twenty times more potent than morphine out there, but I couldn't find the name… so I just called it Endall. If you're feeling like doing some research… I would recommend looking up Ohanin… you might be able to figure out what our snake species is. Just saying. In any case, stay tuned to find out what happens when Judy meets Dr. Tavi!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Snake Pit:

Author's Note:

 **Here we go again… I meant to put this chapter out earlier this week… but I got a bit lost in other work. In any case, I suppose I'll start with the reviews again, because I got some interesting ones. And ones from Guest reviewers who I can't respond to directly. A lot of you guessed what species of snake I was talking about, so very good for you. As for the guest reviewer, just titled Guest, who claimed said species was their favorite animal, I am** ** _very_** **well aware of what this species' main diet is… and I address it when we finally meet said snake.**

 **As for the reviewer USA Patriot: Thank you for reviewing! Normally I would send you a PM to answer your questions, but, as you're operating from a guest account, this will have to do. I'll start at the top: Yes, Nick is** ** _very_** **lazy in this story, but he's also brilliant (or at least has flashes of insight that make him seem more intelligent than your average fox). Yes, he does get a gun, and yes there** ** _are_** **lots of fox criminals that can take it from him, but that's a risk the ZPD is willing to take in order to make him and Judy more effective in the field. The punisher lady is** ** _not_** **a wolverine, though (and I can't believe I'm going to reveal this** ** _this_** **early) there is going to be a wolverine in this story. Also, thank you for telling me that little fact about flak jackets. I did not know that… but then again, we can assume Judy doesn't know the difference either. Although I may (accidentally) continue to refer to it as a flak jacket, just know that I mean plate carrier instead. As for your point about shipping Nick and Judy… they're the only couple I ship… for anything. So I couldn't resist doing that here… sue me.**

 **As for Judy waking up at 7:30, even though she wakes up at 5:30 in the movie, it's called a** ** _change of schedule_** **. Police officers (at least the ones that I know) work twelve hour shifts, she craves every little bit of sleep that she can get. Perhaps she was adamant about waking up at 5:30 every morning for a few weeks, but then she was introduced to something called** ** _sleeping in_** **, and changed her mind. I won't lie and say I'm not taking liberties with her character, I just wanted to see if I could write a story where she's not bogged down by the same thing over and over again. Every story I've read places her as an early riser… in mine, she's not. Sue me again, if you have to.**

 **As for your question about how to get guns in my Zootopia, I believe that everyone wants to know the answer to this. The thing is, there's a size limit on animals who can carry firearms. And that cap-off is about wolf-size. So, while foxes, badgers, wolves, etc. can get guns, animals such as lions, tigers, and bears (oh my) can't. Don't even get me started on elephants and rhinos, as those are both big no-nos. I'm sorry for the long author's note, I just wanted to give USA Patriot an appropriate response. In any case… please, enjoy!**

XXX

An elephant let out a loud sigh as he leaned back in his chair, flicking off the TV as he did. _Dead… I can't believe he's dead,_ the elephant thought to himself as darkness took over the apartment once more, the television having been the only thing casting light into the large, empty space.

Of course, any other elephant who found him in the apartment would question why it was so small. To something like a wolf or a tiger, the room was fairly large, but quite small for an elephant… or even a hippo. But it didn't matter to the elephant who owned the comparatively small apartment. He owned precious little, and didn't need a huge space. After all, he wasn't even sure how long he was going to be staying here.

His only possessions were a chair that he loved more than life itself, a TV, with a stand that it rested on, that he only had because he had nothing else to do, a small table that housed only an ashtray, and a bed that barely supported his massive weight. He had not a phone, nor a lamp, nor even a single book to call his own otherwise. He did not need such things. After all… he wasn't sure how long he was going to be living here.

He turned his head and raised an eyebrow when he heard a knock at the door. His eyes narrowed, he wasn't expecting visitors. He never had visitors… after all… he hardly ever stayed in one place for very long. But he let out a low sigh and stood from his comfortable chair. He made his way towards the door, halting before he opened it.

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_ "Come on! I know you're standing just in front of the door… open it… please?" a voice that sounded distinctly female called from the other side of the door. The elephant's eyebrow arched even further, before he shook his head. He recognized that voice.

His dexterous trunk curled around the door handle before he pulled the heavy door open, letting his comrade into his comparatively small apartment. "Why are you here?" he asked as the strange mammal made her way into the room. He rolled his eyes when he saw her, she was armed to the teeth and wearing her body armor. White skull evident on the back of her trench coat.

"I take it you saw the news?" she asked, eyeing the TV. He grunted in confirmation, walking back over to his chair, and sitting on it before she could claim the seat as her own. She gave him a bored look, clearly wishing that he owned more than what he did. He wasn't prepared for visitors.

But she let out a sigh and moved the TV off its stand and onto the floor so she could sit on the stand instead. She crossed her legs as he squinted at her, trying to make her out in the darkness. He didn't have particularly good night-vision, unlike her. "It's your fault, you know," she chuckled, as if sensing his thoughts, "You're the one who chooses to drape blackout curtains over the windows… it's not exactly bright outside, I'll have you know."

He watched as she flicked open her lighter, casting a glow across her face just long enough for her to light a cigarette. "You still haven't answered what you want… why are you even here? You don't live in the city," he growled.

"Aw, I can't come and visit?" she giggled, smoke just barely visible to him as it curled around her head. "But if you saw the news then you know why I'm here. Badger is dead."

"Yes, I know… you didn't have to come all the way to tell me," he sighed. He paused, hesitating as she took a deep breath, before blowing it out through her nose. "I take it you know who killed him."

"I do."

" _Them?_ "

"Yes…" she sighed.

"Well… that's not good… for you, that is. I assume we've gotten new orders?"

"Not yet… no one but you and I know. I've been trying to find X… but I can't make contact with him. You wouldn't happen… to know where he went, would you?" she asked.

"If you can't find him… I'm sure he doesn't want to be found," the elephant observed, leaning back in his chair.

"Obviously… but it's _his_ job to replace Badger, I ain't gonna do it!" she growled.

The elephant sighed again, allowing silence to reign throughout the apartment once more. Finally, he asked once more, "Why are you here? You'll find X eventually, and we'll be getting new orders soon… that still doesn't explain why you're here."

"I'm here to warn you. _They_ are after us. They got Badger… and they might've gotten X as well… I'm just letting you know," she said.

"I doubt they've gotten X…" the elephant trailed off. "But maybe you're right. What about yourself… are you safe?"

"I'm safe enough. I don't think they're after me… otherwise they would've just ambushed me at the house. But they found Badger… and they'll find you eventually," she admitted.

"Or they're waiting for you to lead them to me."

She snorted, "You know I've take the necessary precautions. I tried to warn Badger, but I was too late… at least I got to you in time. I would suggest that you stay here for a few days until everything dies down… if they find you… you know what to do."

"Indeed… though I should say that I will not be staying here. I've gotten an alias and a job… I plan to work until we're deployed again. Staying here and just waiting is mind-numbing, I'd rather at least continue to contribute to society before I die a horrible death," he chuckled.

"You'll die a horrible death if you don't take my advice," she muttered. "You really got a job? Well… good luck to you, I suppose. That's not a luxury that I can take."

"What about you, though… if _they_ are after us… they'll turn on you eventually too. You're the only one of us who still have… any of… _that_ left. Can you kill them when the time comes?" he asked, rubbing his chin with his trunk.

Although it was still difficult to see her, he could tell that a tremor passed through her body as she flinched at his words. She glared at him with glowing yellow eyes as she snarled venomously, "When have you _ever_ known me to hesitate?"

"Never, I suppose… but what if _he_ is among them? Could you kill him too?" the elephant asked.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I? That thing in my head won't let me hesitate… if I get him in my sights… I suppose my training will take over, right?" she mumbled, almost not wanting it to be true.

"I suppose so… you haven't thought to hack that thing, yet?" he grinned.

"You know that I cannot risk messing with it," she sighed. "Neither of us can." She took another long drag on her cigarette, before she stood and padded over to his small table, extinguishing the cancer stick in the ashtray.

He eyed the shotgun on her back before cracking another grin. "You lied to me… you haven't covered your tracks. You were hoping that they've followed you here," he chuckled.

She smirked, though he couldn't see it. "Yeah, I did. But, if they were here… they would've attacked by now," she explained, walking towards the door.

"You're just going to leave me here? What if you're wrong… and they come for me after you're gone?!" he asked, tone only half-joking.

"Then I suggest you don't leave this place for a few days… and prepare for them to come for you. You know they're coming, which gives you the advantage," her smirk widened even further as she made it to the heavy door. "That's more than Badger got."

"If I die, it'd be your fault! Would you be able to live with yourself?" he asked, trying to remain lighthearted, even if the topic was grim. Then again, neither of them were truly afraid of death… it _was_ just a big joke to them.

She pulled the door open, an impressive feat considering how much smaller she was than him, and stepped out of the apartment, door being pulled behind her as she went. "Then don't die," she suggested before the door shut.

The elephant stared at the door for a few minutes before he let out a sigh. _Shit_ , he chuckled internally. It would look pretty bad if _they_ came for him and she had to show up to help him. But there was nothing he could do about it. He looked at his TV on the ground, silently dreading having to stand up and put it back on the stand.

XXX

Nick and Judy pulled up to a seedy-looking building, which was flanked by even seedier buildings. The snake store, or as it was called, _The Pit_ , was in between a sex shop and a fast food place that practically screamed _definitely not legal._ But they were here for Dr. Tavi.

Today was a particularly gray day, though it didn't look like rain. The parking lot their cruiser was parked in was completely empty. Judy looked around the desolate wasteland, a distinct feeling of being _abandoned_ welled up within her, despite her partner by her side. She looked up at Nick as he said, "I guess this place doesn't get as much business as it used to."

"You've been here before?" she asked as they made their way towards the seemingly empty store. The windows were covered with curtains, but a small, almost unnoticeable sign above the door claimed that it was open.

"Once or twice… when I thought owning a snake would be pretty awesome," he admitted, pulling open the door. He stepped aside and allowed Judy to enter first, to which she rolled her eyes. Though neither commented towards the gesture.

"You thought owning a snake would be _awesome_?" she asked, stifling a chuckle as they made their way into the pitch-black store. The door shut behind Nick and darkness engulfed them, there was hardly enough light poking through the edges of the curtains for his night-vision to be effective.

"Not anymore, but when I was a bit younger I thought snakes were the type of pets powerful crime lords used to intimidate foolish thugs and other animals… so I thought by getting one, I could do the same," he explained. "Unfortunately, snakes are pretty boring after you stare at them just staring back at you for more than a few minutes."

"Did you have the _need_ to intimidate foolish thugs and other, innocent animals?" she asked, crossing her arms, and glaring at him. Though she wasn't even entirely sure if she was actually looking at him.

She felt one of his paws make contact with her shoulder from behind, causing her to nearly leap out of her skin. "I didn't do much intimidating… my MO was my silver tongue, if you remember," he chuckled.

She whirled around to face the direction his voice had come from, ears swiveling to hear him padding away. Rolling her eyes again, she followed him, though she was significantly more blind then he was. Thus, she didn't notice him stopping in front of her, causing her to collide with him. He didn't even flinch from the collision, though she fell to the floor on her ass. "Thanks for warning me," she grumbled.

"You're welcome," he snickered, turning, and offering her a paw that she couldn't see. He pulled back when she forced herself off the ground with a huff, wiping dust from her uniform. The floor was filthy.

"Well? Where is this Dr. Tavi?" she asked.

"I don't know…" he admitted, shrugging, even though she couldn't see it.

"Well then why'd you stop?"

"I think there's a door here," he said, reaching out with his paw. He touched the wall and began moving his paw around on the wooden surface, searching for the door handle. He found it after only a moment of searching.

Her ears swiveled when she heard the click of a door handle turning. "Open it," she commanded when he hesitated. He rolled his eyes, but complied with her order, pulling the door open slowly. They immediately squinted as light flooded into the room from behind the door.

Nick flinched backwards, covering his eyes, the light hurt more to his well-adjusted eyes. Judy blinked through the sudden brightness rather quickly, before pushing past the fox and stepping into the next room. She grabbed his arm and tugged him along, unlike what he had done for her in the darkness.

They walked through the second room, her eyes widening as they did. She came to a halt in the center of the large room, glancing around rapidly as she counted the dozens and dozens of glass cages holding snakes. Pricking her ears, she could hear their subtle hissing, sending a shiver through her core. In that moment, she realized she _didn't like snakes._

"What? What's going on?" Nick asked, still covering his eyes. The burning sensation was starting to fade, but they hadn't quite adjusted to the brightness yet.

"E-everywhere… oh… they're every-w-where," she muttered, letting go of his arm.

He fumbled blindly, before deciding to brave the light and open his eyes. Slowly, his vision focused and he saw what she saw. Hundreds of snakes in glass cages, dotting the room. Some were pushed up against the back wall, others were placed randomly throughout the room. "Oh," he said simply, noting her sudden fear.

"They're in cages, Carrots," he said, putting a paw on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. She flinched at his gesture, but relaxed quickly after she realized it was only him. She nodded slowly, but made no verbal affirmation as she glanced around the room worriedly, trying not to think about the snakes… _wrapping_ … around… her…

"I didn't know you were afraid of snakes," Nick observed with a raised eyebrow.

"Neither did I," she admitted softly, ears flattening behind her head. "Let's hurry up and find Dr. Tavi so we can get the hell away from this place." He nodded in agreement and took the lead, walking deeper into the room.

Under normal circumstances, he might've paused and observed the snakes in their cages, but he could sense Carrots' distress, so he decided against wasting time. Or even teasing her about. _That'll come later,_ he snickered internally. Finally, having enough of wandering around the room, Nick called out, "Dr. Tavi?!"

"I'm coming!" came the response. Judy tugged Nick away from the cages lining the back wall, wanting to be far away from them as possible. She dragged him back towards the door, noticing that it was the farthest they could be from the snakes without leaving the room.

Not a few moments later, a mongoose appeared from behind one of the cages and spotted them before making his way over to the duo. He was about Nick's height, just slightly shorter, and wore a white lab coat. Glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, which he adjusted when he came to a stop in front of the duo. "You know that we're closed today… Nick? Is that you?" he asked, cutting himself off as he recognized the fox.

"Hey, Doc, what's up?" Nick grinned, offering a small wave at the mongoose. "You know that your open sign is still up, right?"

The doctor blinked before saying, "I knew I forgot to do something today…"

"You don't get very many customers, do you?" the fox chuckled.

The mongoose rolled his eyes, but didn't offer a rebuttal. "What can I do you for, Nick? I mean, we're closed today, so I can't sell you anything… but if you need something, I'm always happy to help," he shrugged.

"Actually, I'm with the ZPD now, Doc, and we just have a few questions to ask you," Nick smirked when the mongoose's eyes widened. The fox pulled Judy out from behind him, she was fighting not to just bolt and let him deal with all this, and set her in front of him. She was the one who had done the venom research.

"Finally decided to do some good in the world, eh, Nick?" Dr. Tavi chuckled. "Well, good for you. If you've got questions, I've got answers, I suppose… you don't think I did something, do you?"

"Oh, no," Nick smirked. "We've been assigned to a missing mammals' case in Little Rodentia. Several of the residents have been going missing and the other day we found a dead body. Duke, if you remember that weasel."

"Duke's dead?" the mongoose asked, surprise written heavily across his face. "How'd he die?"

That was Nick's cue to nudge Judy into talking. She sent him a quick glare, before glancing back at the snakes. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and said, "We found traces of a protein called Ohanin in his blood… and, from my research, it's a naturally occurring strand found in snake venom. But we couldn't figure out what species of snake."

"So… oh, yeah… Ohanin… uh…" the doctor said, putting a paw on his forehead as he tried to remember. "I'm not sure, actually… I can tell you that snake venom has lots of uses medically, and I have a few different types of venomous snakes here… but I only milk them. I don't really know what each of them carry."

"Milk them?" Judy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, extracting their venom. It's harmless, of course, and like I said, there's health benefits to lots of different snake venom," the mongoose shrugged. "What exactly is the connection between Duke's death and the disappearances in Little Rodentia?"

"There's a really good chance that whatever species of snake killed Duke is also taking or killing these rodents," Nick growled. "And if there's a snake loose, we need to neutralize it as quickly as possible."

"O-oh… uh… is killing it… _necessary?_ " Dr. Tavi asked.

"It's killing mammals, Doc, there's not much I can do about it," the fox sighed.

"But that's not its fault!" the mongoose exclaimed. "It's just trying to feed itself…"

Nick blinked, but Judy stepped in. "What do you feed your snakes here, if I may ask?" she said.

"Lizards, amphibians, other reptiles," the doctor muttered.

She nodded before thinking for a moment. "So you can't help us identify what species of snake we're looking for?" she asked with a sigh.

"Well… it might be one of the species I have here, I just don't know which one it might be," the mongoose said. "I… I guess I could give you a sample of each of their venoms, then you can determine which one contains Ohanin."

"That would be extremely helpful, Doc," Nick said. "Do you have a sample ready to go, or…"

"I'd have to milk them again… what I already have prepared are expected to be shipped today… I can't really afford to be late with the shipments again," Dr. Tavi sighed.

"When can you milk them again?" Judy asked. She really didn't want to have to be in this store for longer than she had to.

"I'd have to feed them first… then wait an hour or two before I could actually milk them," he explained, crossing his arms.

"But you _can_ get us the samples today?" she asked.

"Yeah, probably…" he shrugged. "I… I guess I'll go ahead and feed them. You can go and wait in the lobby, if you want… it should only be a few hours."

"Why is that room so _dark?_ " the fox asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It saves power," he explained, shoving his paws in his pockets. "Is there anything else? Or can I get started?"

"No, no, go ahead, we'll just wait in the 'lobby,'" Nick chuckled. Judy let out a sigh, she wanted to be as far away from this place as possible, but she supposed leaving this room would help at least a little bit.

It was at that moment, Nick's radio crackled, causing both Judy and Dr. Tavi to look at him. He chuckled slightly and plucked the radio off his belt. "Nick speaking, what's up Benny-boy?" he asked, grin rising on his face when he saw Judy shaking her head. Dr. Tavi shrugged and wandered off, not interested in the radio conversation.

"Wilde," came not the friendly voice of the overweight cheetah, but rather the cold, gruff voice of chief Bogo.

"Oh… chief, what is it? Do you need something?" Nick asked, his demeanor changing immediately. His back straightened as he stood taller and he picked up a more professional tone.

"I need you and Hopps at Savannah Central, _now_ ," the chief growled.

"Uh, sir… we're kind of in the middle of the case at the moment. We're a bit busy-" he was cut off as the cape buffalo interrupted him.

"That is no longer your priority. I need you both here _immediately,_ I need all the help we can get on this one," the chief responded.

"Yes, sir… we'll be right there," Nick answered, putting the radio back on his belt.

"I wonder what that was all about," Judy pondered aloud, nose twitching. Bogo seemed extremely stressed. And she knew that he didn't often pull officers from their cases… unless it was a _real_ emergency.

"Well… only one way to find out," the fox answered. "Whatever it is, though, it can't be good."

XXX

 **Yup, cliffhanger. Sort of. It's a bit sudden, but I'm sure you don't want to read Nick and Judy sitting around, waiting for three or so hours for Dr. Tavi to milk the snakes again. So… something else has happened, I wonder what it could be! And what about that first section? That was an odd exchange between our mystery punisher-esque mammal and an elephant we've never seen before. I wonder if** ** _that_** **has anything to do with why Bogo is so stressed… but in any case, we won't find out… until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – A Bloodstained Hurricane:

Author's Note:

 **Oh boy, I'm really excited for this chapter! This and** ** _one_** **other (later) chapter are the reasons I decided to write this fanfic. It's going to be exciting! But first… to the reviews!**

 **I'm feeling lazy and didn't want to PM HawkTooth, so I'll say something to you here. There is a** ** _very_** **good reason it changed preferences, and you** ** _should_** **be debating why Dr. Tavi is going through this whole process before milking the snakes… I am** ** _very_** **well aware of how you milk snakes (they're some of my favorite animals too, ya know), and you should be suspicious. And the mystery is going to** ** _start_** **unfolding now, actually… so wait no further.**

 **And USA Patriot, thank you once again for your review! I'm glad you don't want to sue me, that would be bad… I don't have any money to give. Thank you for agreeing with the reason I made up on the spot as to why Judy sleeps in now. And thank you on the history of flak jackets, I'm probably still going to refer to our mystery-mammal's plate carrier as a flak jacket, so be prepared for that. And (I knew I shouldn't have given it away, but oh well) you are correct as to your guess of who the Wolverine is. And, lastly, if you look closely, elephants in Zootopia don't have fingers… so they wouldn't even be able to fire a traditional handgun, let alone hold it in their… feet. That's not important, the important thing is that there is a size limit on firearms because yes, it would be impractical to build such large weapons, but it's also because most larger mammals are plenty dangerous** ** _without_** **firearms.**

 **Now, before we begin officially, I have some news. For those of you who have actually noticed, this story has started updating every Saturday night. That is when I plan to update this story, once a week (due to me writing two other stories at the same time). However, know this… I will not be positing next week. I apologize, but next week is midterms, so I will be too busy to write the next chapter. But after that, it should be smooth sailing every Saturday night.**

 **In any case, like I said, I'm fairly excited for this chapter. It's fairly action-packed! Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Nick and Judy's cruiser came to a stop at Savannah Central. They climbed out of their vehicle and were immediately greeted by what seemed to be the _entirety_ of the ZPD taping off a wide area, pushing mammals aside, and questioning what were likely witnesses. The fox and rabbit shared a look before walking under the tape, spotting officer Wolfard and his partner nearby.

"Wolfard!" Judy shouted as she walked over to him, Nick following close behind her. "What the hell is going on here?"

Wolfard blinked as he glanced at his partner. She only shrugged and turned to continue doing whatever she was doing before Judy interrupted her. "Oh… I guess the chief _did_ call in _everyone_ ," he said.

"He did? Why?" the rabbit asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He didn't tell you? There's been another murder," the wolf explained, crossing his arms.

Nick's eyes widened. "Another? You mean… the same animals who killed that badger in my apartment building?" he asked.

"That's what we're thinking," Wolfard sighed. "It's another John Doe, a no name."

"Is it another badger?" Judy asked.

"No, uh… it's an elephant this time. But… the level of brutality is what really stands out," the timber wolf admitted. "That's why we think the two killings are connected."

"B-brutality? What… sort of… brutality?" she asked softly, unsure of if she actually wanted to know the answer to that. _Why did Bogo call us in? We're not homicide investigators!_ she wondered internally.

"… I think it might be best if I just show you," Wolfard muttered. He turned to walk towards the crime scene, Nick and Judy trailing behind him hesitantly. He walked towards the very center of Savannah Central, talking as he walked. "Despite how crowded this place is, no one remembers seeing _anything_. Just a bright flash of light, and then the body was there."

"A bright flash of light?" Nick asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah. We have a forensics team going over the area around the body, and they think they found traces of an incendiary device," the wolf growled. "We've tried moving the body, but it's so far been… stubborn."

"Stubborn?"

"You'll see," Wolfard sighed, halting in his step and saluting. Nick and Judy walked around beside him and spotted chief Bogo. He looked _very_ angry. So they did the only sensible thing they could think of, saluting just like Wolfard was.

"At ease," Bogo growled. "Hopps, Wilde, you're here."

"Chief, why did you call for us?" Judy asked, lowering her paw.

"There's been another murder," he answered. "Wolfard, have you finished taping off the area?"

"No, sir… I'll go and finish that," the timber wolf said, turning and walking away quickly.

"We know that, sir… but that doesn't explain why you called for us… let alone everyone," Judy said.

"This is the second unidentified body that we've found, the mayor is getting worried. He's riding my ass on this, so this is priority number one, Hopps," Bogo growled.

"I can understand that, sir, but we were working on a case and we're _very_ close to solving it! You can't just grab every single officer and ignore every other case that lands on your desk just because the _mayor_ asks," she huffed, putting her paws on her hips.

Bogo rolled his eyes. "I know that, Hopps. I called everyone in because there is a _very_ good chance that we're dealing with a large group of mammals who are highly dangerous… and there is still a chance they are _still in the area_ ," he sighed.

Judy furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to think of a response. "That still doesn't mean that we'd be of use here," Nick pointed out, trying to back up his partner.

"I understand the work you two do is important, and you do a damn good job of it! But that's not why I called you here. I'm reassigning the two of you," the chief crossed his arms.

"Reassigning? But we're so close on this other case! Can't you wait until-" she argued, but was cut off by his snarl.

"You and Wilde were there with Wolfard and Summers during their investigation of the death of that badger. I have removed them from their new assignment and onto this one as well. You and Wilde are the best cops on the force, and you have experience with the first murder, you will be _valuable_ in solving this case!" the cape buffalo all but roared.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing in a much calmer voice. "Like I said, the mayor is _extremely_ panicked about these deaths. He wants this case solved, and he wants it solved _now_. _That_ is why you're being reassigned, deal with it," he sighed.

"Yes sir," Judy grumbled. It didn't feel right to abandon a case like that. Especially since she and Nick were the only ones qualified to investigate it… considering their size. "Can we see the body now?"

"Of course," Bogo sighed, stepping aside. He gestured towards another taped-off area. The police had taped off a large area around the body before shutting down the entirety of Savannah Central. Judy could see a huge group of mammals just outside of the taped-off border of Savannah Central, watching the police do their jobs.

Taking a deep breath, she and Nick walked forward, ducking under the tape, and padding towards the body. Her eyes widened, as did his, when she laid eyes on the slaughtered elephant. Wolfard wasn't kidding… yet another brutal death. The elephant was not lying on the ground, nor suspended on meat hooks, rather he, or at least Judy assumed it was a male from the tusks, had been impaled.

Six huge, wooden stakes had been shoved through his body, red liquid still streaming down their lengths. The stakes had been arranged in a circle pattern, so they had all converged through the center of the elephant, piercing him through the chest. It looked like some sort of demented teepee. The way the stakes had been arranged meant that they could hold the elephant up off the ground, despite his weight. Judy felt a rough twinge in her stomach, as if she was going to throw up.

Even Nick was feeling sick, the elephant's head had been removed and mounted on a separate stake not far from his body. Nick opened his mouth as if to say something, but thought better of it, he didn't need to say anything. The body spoke for itself.

Judy held her head in her paws, ears having fallen. She dropped to her knees as she tried her hardest not to scream out. _Why is the chief making us do this? I don't wanna do this!_ she panicked internally.

But the panic stopped once Nick laid a paw on her shoulder. "It's okay, Judy, it's okay," he whispered comfortingly. She let out a deep breath and let go of her head, though she did not stand from the ground. "Let's start by going over what we know," he suggested.

She nodded slowly, standing up, though her ears did not rise from behind her head. "Right. Well… if we assume that this death and the badger's death are done by the same culprits… then we know there's a lot of them," she noted, taking out her carrots pen and a writing pad.

"Yeah… a lot a lot of them," Nick growled. "I mean, it would take a lot of mammals to do this to an elephant, and even if the killer _was_ an elephant, it would still take more than one."

"But the… impalement wasn't the cause of death, was it?" she asked softly, unable to even look at the body.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Carrots," he said, glancing around to make sure they were alone before he used her nickname. "Besides being beheaded… there are no other open wounds on the elephant's body."

"So you don't think beheading is the cause of death?" she asked softly.

"I don't know… but we need to get the body down from here as soon as possible and do an autopsy to find out," he growled. "What I don't understand is how they managed to get the body here. Without anyone seeing."

"I don't know _why_ they put the body here," she muttered in return. "It doesn't make sense! The only reason they'd go through the trouble, unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless this was a message, or a warning of some kind. To let us know that they have the power to kill… and there's nothing we can do about it," she grumbled.

"Maybe," he sighed. "But there's no point to it, I don't think. If they were making a statement… then they'd want to let everyone know who they were."

"Not necessarily… the _idea_ of a _them_ is still there. They don't necessarily need themselves to be known for us to fear them," she growled.

"Maybe that's why the mayor is so afraid," he reasoned. "Maybe this is a threat to _him._ So… perhaps there's a chance he knows who did this."

"Doubtful… but there's a good chance he might know who this elephant and who that badger was," she sighed.

"What makes you say that?"

"Think about it… if someone was trying to send a message, wouldn't it be more useful to kill animals who the public actually knows? These two deaths are both John Does… and if they're being used as threats, _someone_ has to know who they are," she explained. "And my bet's on the mayor. Either way… I think we should talk to Lionheart anyways."

"Agreed," he sighed. "Think there's any chance we could lift some pawprints? From the stakes, I mean."

"Even if we could… I doubt we'd be able to match them to anyone," she sighed. "In any case… I'm concerned about what that flash of light was."

"Maybe it was aliens," Nick chuckled.

Judy only rolled her eyes. "Right. The forensics team said they found some sort of substance on the ground that signaled it might have been an incendiary. Do you smell anything out of the ordinary?"

"No not really… hold on," he said. His nostrils flared as he scented the air, trying to determine if there were any odd smells present. "Hold on… I smell something familiar…"

Her eyes narrowed as she too took in a deep breath through her nose. Though it wasn't as good as his, she could tell what he was talking about. "Yeah… I smell it too," she growled.

"Cigarettes," he mumbled. "Is that out of the ordinary?"

"Yeah, actually… it's rather strong. Meaning…"

"They could still be here," he finished, reaching for his gun. She nodded and did the same, though neither drew their weapons. "Should we alert the chief?"

"Yeah… and get Wolfard over here. If one or more of them were smoking, and it's strong enough for _me_ to still smell it… they couldn't have gotten far. He should be able to track them," she muttered.

"Amazing no one else noticed before," he chuckled, turning to walk away. Though he paused and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to follow the trail to the best of my abilities," she said. He gawked at her, she wasn't supposed to do that without backup. But he never got the chance to protest. "If you have a problem, I suggest you hurry… that way I don't get far before you and Wolfard arrive," she smirked before taking off around the impaled corpse.

Nick watched her go, frown heavy on his face. Why _did_ no one else notice the cigarette smoke before? But he didn't have time to dote on it. He had to get back-up as quickly as possible. He rushed towards the hulking form of the police chief, spotting Wolfard nearby. Hopefully Carrots wouldn't get too far…

Judy halted on the other side of the elephant, having not gone more than a few meters before she spotted something on the ground. Screeching to a halt, she bent down and picked up the butt of a used cigarette. Growling to herself, she rushed forward again. The scent was leading her to the crowd gathered on the other side of the police tape.

She didn't have to wonder who had done this. Or, at the very least, who had left behind those cigarettes. That heavily armed, mysterious mammal that she didn't recognize the species of. _So, she thought she could escape through the crowd?_ Judy wondered internally, coming to a stop a few meters behind the tape. Whatever the reason, that strange mammal had been here, and recently too.

She glanced around the crowd, hoping to spot that white skull that had been taunting her as of late. Nothing. Grumbling to herself, she turned to walk away, to head back and wait for backup in the form of someone who could actually track the mystery mammal, but she halted in her step when she made eye contact with the very being she had been chasing.

The odd animal was staring right at her, lighter raised in one paw, ready to light yet another cancer stick she held in her jaws. The two stared at each other before they both made the connection. "ZPD! Don't move!" Judy shouted, reaching for her gun.

The strange mammal's eyes narrowed as the weapon was brought out of its holster. She turned and retreated into the crowd, despite the panic that was ensuing around her. "I said freeze!" Judy called out, but the mammal didn't listen. The mystery mammal was gone, engulfed by the crowd around her.

Growling, Judy lowered her weapon and dashed into the crowd, desperate not to lose the only lead she had. She could hear Nick's voice shouting from behind her, "Carrots! Carrots!" but she ignored him and rushed into the panicked crowd. She still had her weapon drawn, but she wasn't pointing it at anyone as she weaved through the thick crowd of larger animals.

 _Gone? Gone! She can't be gone!_ Judy cried internally. She looked down at her firearm. The crowd was too thick, and there was only one way to get them to move. Gritting her teeth and reluctantly aiming into the air, she fired off two rounds.

The reaction was swift, animals dropped left and right after the shots were fired. But they never stopped moving, hitting the ground as flat as they could manage before crawling away from her. As far as they knew, she had lost her mind. She could hear Nick's voice once again after firing. "Carrots! Judy! What's going on!" he called out from somewhere behind her.

But as she turned to see if Nick was behind her, she saw that white skull out of the corner of her eye. Whipping her head around, she watched it disappear into a nearby alleyway. Tightening her grip on her weapon, she dashed towards the fleeing mammal before Nick and Wolfard could break through the crowd to find her.

Nick managed to squeeze his way through the larger mammals, searching for Judy. He looked around desperately, but couldn't find her in the crowd. "Judy!" he called out as loud as he could. He spun in a small circle, checking the gaps in the crowd, but couldn't find a single trace of the smaller rabbit. The crowd was calming down, but was still moving away from Savannah Center, dragging Nick with them. "Judy!" he called out again, but once more… no response.

XXX

"Freeze!" Judy screeched for seemed like the hundredth time as she skidded into the alleyway, gun raised once more. She panted as she stared into the dark alley before squinting, trying to make out the dark mammal in the blackness. Nothing.

"Goddamn it!" she roared, but didn't lower her weapon. The mysterious mammal was gone. _Am I just… imagining her?_ she wondered internally. No one else seemed to notice her… so maybe she was just a figment of the rabbit's imagination.

 _But it can't just be a coincidence that she's been to the scene of each crime!_ she screamed internally. _Unless…_ her mind trailed off, almost unwilling to finish the thought. Unless she had _imagined_ there was some connection between the mammal and the crime scenes. Maybe she was chasing a figment of her imagination after all…

 _But the skull! Don't forget the skull! It was at the badger's apartment,_ she realized. The skull… she didn't recognize what sort of animal the skull belonged to, but then again, she didn't even recognize whatever mammal she was chasing. And she wasn't the only one to see that skull, nor did she imagine that hidden weapons room in the badger's apartment.

 _If I go back to the crime scene… no… we need to figure out where this elephant lives. To see if he has the same set-up as the badger…_ she sighed, finally holstering her weapon. Maybe that strange mammal wasn't real, or maybe she was… either the case, there was only one way to continue. "Follow the skulls," she mumbled before letting out a deep breath.

She turned to head out of the alleyway to find her partner, but her ears perked up when she heard rustling. She whirled back around and put her paw on her weapon, but didn't draw it. There was a chance it was just some homeless mammal. But she _hadn't_ imagined the noise. "ZPD! Come out with your paws up!" she commanded, eyes scanning the darkness.

She cursed herself as she heard more rustling, wishing she had night-vision like Nick. He would have an easier time in the blackness. Her head turned when she heard the sound of a can being kicked against the brick walls of the alleyway. "Show yourself!" she shouted.

Deep chuckled reverberated across the brick walls, causing her blood to run cold. She could feel the fur on the back of her neck stand up as her ears straightened in alarm. _Danger signals,_ she realized too late as the darkness seemed to melt away to reveal the mysterious mammal approaching her, carrying what looked to be a submachinegun.

Her eyes widened as _two more_ of the mystery mammals step from the shadows, both carrying large knives. But her eyes immediately narrowed when she noticed something. None of the mammals before her was the female she had chased down the alleyway. They were the same species, she could tell that much, but none of them wore the trench coat and flak jacket.

She gulped, but held her ground, paw still on the handle of her gun. "ZPD," she repeated, "Stop moving."

The three mammals approaching her halted, though more from sheer surprise than following her command, and shared a look between the three of them. Snickers rang out again as they turned back to her and kept coming. "A little bunny cop? That's cute! What's wrong kid, got tired of playin' dress up, so ya thought you could mess with the big boys?" the mammal with the machinegun spoke, voice distinctly male.

The other two echoed his laughter, both of them sounded male as well, judging from the pitch of their laughter. "Cute?" Judy raged, fighting to stay calm. One of them was pointing a gun at her, and she had no doubt he would fire if she drew her own weapon. "I'm with the ZPD, and I'm armed!"

The lead mammal looked down at the gun by her side, but only burst out laughing again. "That little toy? Listen, little bunny cop, _this_ is a real gun," he chuckled waving the weapon around as he stopped in front of her. He and his friends towered over her quite a bit, probably just a few inches shy of six feet tall.

"If you fire you'll alert all the cops in the area," she growled, hoping to delay the inevitable. _They_ _ **must**_ _be the ones to have killed that elephant… maybe that badger too! I have to get a confession from them… if it's the last thing I do,_ her mind whirled, but she immediately blanched. She had forgotten her carrot pen. _Of all the times to forget it!_

"That's what the knives are for!" the leader grinned, pulling out a knife of his own.

"If you kill me…"

"So what? Like anyone's gonna notice one little bunny cop going missing!"

"My name is Judy Hopps, and _everyone_ will notice if I go missing," she growled. _Especially Nick…_

"Who?" the leader raised an eyebrow.

Her eyes widened. _They don't know who I am!_ she realized. She would be lying if she wasn't at least _a bit_ famous after the nighthowler incident. For them to not know… "Who are you? What are you?" she asked, desperately trying to halt the inevitable.

"Well that's kinda the point, don't ya think? It doesn't matter who you are, or who or what we are," the leader grinned, raising his knife. "All that matters is that you're gonna die!" Judy gulped, but didn't close her eyes or look away from the large knife headed towards her head.

 _Clink! Clink! Clink!_

The sound of something bouncing against the ground halted the leader before he could stab Judy. Both he, the other two mammals, and Judy all looked at the ground to see an odd-looking canister roll under his legs and stop right in front of Judy. Both his and her eyes widened when they realized what had just rolled between them.

She was just the slightest bit faster, covering her eyes with her paws and closing them as tightly as she could just as it detonated. _A flashbang,_ she growled as she was forced to the ground from the sound. A bright flash of light filled the small alleyway, blinding the other two mammals, though the leader also managed to cover his eyes, as a piercing sound rang through their ears.

Judy was forced to the ground, her ears ringing from the flashbang, as a loud scream managed to pierce the ringing and dull thudding in her head. She uncovered her eyes and opened them slowly, only for them to widen at what was before her.

A _fourth_ mystery mammal was now in the alleyway, this one Judy recognized as the heavily-armed mysterious mammal, trench coat and all. Unlike the other three mammals, who sported light brown fur with spots, the trench coat wearing mammal had dark black fur, though spots still showed through. But it was unmistakable, all four mammals were the same species.

And the trench coat wearing mammal had a knife of her own. Only she had plunged it through the back of one of the three other mammal's skulls. The leader of the trio's eyes widened even further as he dropped his knife and raised his submachinegun to fire at her.

But the black mammal moved almost faster than Judy could even see, tearing her knife free from the skull of the dead mammal, and _hurtling_ it as fast as she could at the leader of the group. The knife slammed into the shoulder of the leader, causing him to cry out and drop his weapon before he himself was sent to his knees, groaning in agony as he tried to remove the knife from his shoulder.

As he was distracted, the black mammal was fighting with the last member of the trio. Judy wanted to help, to do something, but the mammal didn't need it. It was… impressive to watch nonetheless. She was unarmed, despite having pistols at her hips, she was choosing to fight bare-pawed, and yet completely outclassed her opponent. It helped that she was a good bit larger than the other mammals.

She caught the last of the trio's arm before he could plunge the knife into her neck. She smirked and twisted his arm, causing him to drop his knife, before kicking him away, just as the leader was getting to his feet, wielding her own knife against her. He rushed at her, but she ducked under him and flipped him over as if he weighed nothing.

His back slammed against the ground, causing him to let out a gasp as air rushed from his lungs. She pulled on his arm carrying her knife, pinning him against the ground with her foot. Cracking sounds were audible to Judy as the black mammal ripped the leader's arm from its socket before wrenching her knife free. At that moment, the last of the trio slammed into her, but she didn't even budge, despite the speed he had gathered in the small alleyway.

She turned to glare at him as he tried his hardest to knock her off his ally. He gulped audibly as she grabbed him by the neck and dragged him towards one of the sturdy brick walls. The leader stayed down, but rolled onto his stomach. She slammed the other mammal hard against the brick wall. "Who hired you?" she hissed, just barely loud enough for Judy to hear.

"Fuck you," was the other mammal's immediate response, despite the harsh grip on his throat, he did his best to spit at her. The saliva, mixed with blood, landed on her face, but she didn't even flinch.

A cruel grin spread across her face. "Gladly," she chuckled darkly, before kneeing him as hard as she could in his groin. Judy couldn't help but wince as the male let out a loud scream, but was silenced as the female slammed him against the wall again, once more knocking the air from his lungs. "Answer the damn question!"

"Fuck you!" he repeated, gasping for air. He was clearly in immense pain, but he refused to even budge.

She only rolled her eyes. "Fine, I only need one of you," she shrugged. He barely had time to raise an eyebrow before she plunged her knife into his throat. He let out a gargled cry of surprise as blood splattered across the already red brick and over her face and clothes. But she remained unperturbed, letting him go to slide down the wall. He was dead.

She grumbled, removing her knife from his neck, splattering more blood across the ground and her clothes. She turned to the leader of the group struggling to crawl towards his submachinegun, reaching for it with his good arm. She rolled her eyes again, twirling the knife in her paws as she approached him.

She watched him, bored expression on her face as he reached for his gun. The ringing in Judy's ears started to subside as she watched the black mammal reach into her pocket and pull out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. She placed one in her mouth and lit it with expert precision before stuffing both back into her pocket.

The leader glared at her as he continued to reach for his weapon. Just as he grasped the handle, she stepped on his paw cruelly, the sound of bones snapping clear to Judy's no longer ringing ears. The female leaned down and exhaled smoke in the male's face. "Who hired you?" she repeated the same question she had to his partner.

"Fuck if I know," he growled, still trying to push himself towards his weapon. Even though she was practically sitting on his arm.

She blinked at him, taking another slow drag on her cancer stick before sighing heavily. "You know I don't wanna do this, Slick," she sighed. "You're giving me no choice. Just tell me who hired you… and I might let you go."

"Fuck you, you know that?" he grinned. "I ain't about to give up information to some _traitor!_ "

She let out another smoke-filled sigh. "The hard way it is, then," she growled. Switching her grip on her knife, she plunged it into his arm, just above his elbow. He growled, but did not cry out, glaring at her as she shoved the blade deeper. But he _did_ cry out when she twisted the blade violently before wrenching it up towards his shoulder.

" _I don't know! I don't know, okay!_ " he screamed as she cut into his shoulder.

"Really? Why don't I _believe_ you?" she asked, frown embedded as deep on her face as her knife was in his skin.

"Look, I just follow orders, you know that!" he cried out. "Only one of us knows! Only _she_ knows! Ah, fuck! Please stop!"

"All right, that's enough!" Judy shouted over the sound of his screaming, causing both of the mystery mammals to turn their heads towards her. She had managed to gather her bearings and understand what was happening, even if only slightly. She had drawn her firearm and pointed it at the darker of the two.

"And what do you think you're going to do with that, huh? Bunny cop?" the female mysterious mammal asked, frown somehow deepening.

"This is illegal. I appreciate your help saving me, but I need to arrest him so we can interrogate him _properly_. And I have a few questions for you as well," Judy growled, never once pointing her weapon away from the female.

"Oh?" the female asked, letting go of her knife to remove her cigarette from her mouth. "That's a waste of time. I assure you."

"I'm sorry, _I wasn't asking_ ," Judy replied, anger starting to creep into her tone.

The female rolled her eyes. "Well I'm not complying," she grunted. Before Judy could even consider pulling the trigger, the female leaned over the male and latched onto his neck with her jaws. Before Judy could even cry out, she snapped his neck loudly, blood leaking out from the holes she left in his neck. "There," she sighed after she removed his neck from her mouth.

"You… you killed him," Judy muttered, shell-shocked at the simple brutality behind it.

"Yup," the female said simply, his blood dripping down her chin. She put the cancer stick back into her mouth and inhaled deeply before standing, taking her knife from his corpse with her. She approached Judy slowly, but not cautiously, twirling her blade in her paw as she went.

"Stop moving… freeze," Judy growled lowly, raising her weapon to aim at the mammal's head.

"You've never taken a life, have you, bunny cop?" the female asked, not stopping in her approach.

"I said stop!" the rabbit shouted. Why was everyone ignoring her? Did she _not_ have a loaded weapon pointed at the mammal's head?

The mammal snorted as she came to a stop in front of Judy. She leaned down, the rabbit's weapon following her head as it descended. Then, faster than Judy could react to, the mammal lashed out and slapped the firearm from the officer's paws. Judy yelped in surprise, but let out a gasp as the mystery mammal grabbed her by the throat. It was a gentle touch, not enough to choke or strangle her, merely to keep her in place. But the rabbit couldn't help but glance at the blade still held in one of the mammal's paws.

"Why did you follow me?" the mammal asked.

"Who are you!" Judy responded. "I'll tell you anything if you just tell me _who you are!_ "

"I'm no one."

"Bullshit! That's not an answer," Judy protested.

"No, I mean, I don't exist."

"What? I can feel your paw around my neck… your claws poking at my throat… I can see you… and smell those damn cigarettes. You _are not_ a figment of my imagination!" the rabbit growled. "I just witnessed you murder three mammals! I mean your _name_!"

"I don't have a name," the female replied immediately. "And you need to answer my question now… or you'll share their fate."

 _No name, huh?_ Judy growled internally, but complied and answered the strange animal's question. "I'm trying to figure out who killed that elephant in Savannah Central," she said.

"Really? Who do you think killed him?" the female raised an eyebrow.

"Right now, I'm thinking it's you."

"Wrong," the female sighed. "Look, I don't have time for this. But I'll tell you, it's not important who killed Elephant. It's more important who they're going to kill next."

"They? You mean those mammals over there… aren't the only ones?" Judy asked.

"I don't have time to talk with a cop, okay? I've got work to do," the female growled. "Maybe we'll meet again… thank you for distracting them, though." She chuckled before her face went completely blank, just as it had while she was slaughtering the trio.

"Huh? You're welcome I guess… but I really do need to get you down to the-" Judy trailed off as she saw the mystery mammal raise her knife, as if to stab her. Judy let out a cry of surprise and flinched away. She had thought the female wasn't going to hurt her!

There was a loud _clunk_ sound a few seconds after Judy closed her eyes tightly. The seconds ticked by before her eyes opened slowly again. She was alive, but the mammal was gone. Judy blinked a few times as she tried to comprehend what had happened. The mysterious animal had stabbed the ground in front of her and ran while her eyes were closed. _That sneaky bitch!_ she raged internally.

"Judy!" her ears perked and swiveled at the sound of Nick's voice. She barely had time to turn around completely before Nick practically bowled her over, wrapping his arms around her. "Judy! What the hell happened? I heard gunshots and then you disappeared… and then I find you in this alley-"

"She's gone," the rabbit muttered.

It was at that moment Nick saw the dead bodies. "Judy, what the hell happened here? Who is 'she?'" he asked.

"I don't know… I don't know at all," Judy admitted, shaking her head.

"Well that's not helpful, Carrots," he sighed, just happy that she was safe. He finally let her go and walked over to one of the bodies to examine it.

"I'm sorry, Nick… but I'm just so confused," she sighed. "She said that it's not important who killed the elephant… it's important who they're going to kill next."

"Who is 'she,' Carrots?" he asked, not looking away from the leader's corpse.

"I don't know… she wouldn't give her name," Judy sighed.

"Was… was she the same species as these three?" he asked, clenching his paws into fists.

"Yeah, except for the fact that her fur was a lot darker, she seemed to be the same species. Nick… what are these things?"

"I had thought the brutality was just a coincidence, but now I'm certain," he sighed, finally standing, and looking back at Judy. "They're hyenas. And if _they're_ what's killing these animals… we're in trouble."

XXX

 **Ah… this chapter is a bit longer than the last few, so you're welcome. Now, hopefully it isn't too hard to see why this was one of my favorites to write… I do like action scenes, and our punisher-hyena is very fun to watch, no? I certainly hope you had no trouble following the action… but there is more to come! Nick and Judy have been reassigned, so I wonder what will happen to the other case they were working on? And we finally get a few answers! Our punisher-mammal is a hyena! Though, lots of you already knew that. Probably…**

 **For those of you worried that we're going off-track here… I will just give you all a single hint…** ** _everything_** **is connected. What that means or how… you'll have to find out. Just be patient. Speaking of being patient, now that we have a few solid answers, next chapter should be interesting. All that and more, next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 - Hyena:

Author's Note:

 **Yeah, I know… sorry about not posting on Sunday. But… if it's any consolation… that's why I'm posting today! So, a little side note before I talk about the story. Today (March 14** **th** **) is the one year anniversary of my account. It's important, in my mind, so I wanted to do something for it. And the stars have aligned in my favor, granting me a snow day that I can use to write this entire chapter in a single night!**

 **So here we go. Unfortunately I don't have any real questions in the reviews to address, so we can get started right away. So please, enjoy!**

XXX

Judy crossed her arms as she leaned back in her chair. Her paws were still shaking from the terror she had felt from nearly dying, but her expression only showed grim determination. After her run-in with what she found out were hyenas, though she had _no_ idea what the hell a hyena even _was_ , Nick had dragged her and everyone else back to the precinct.

It was strange seeing Bogo standing off to the side and _Nick_ instead at the podium, clearing his throat before addressing the officers present. He had pulled the projector screen down and procured a projector as well as he waited for the officers to file in. This was an emergency announcement, _everyone_ needed to hear this.

"Thank you all for coming," Nick started as the lights flicked off and the door shut. "Now, just a few hours ago, an elephant was discovered in Savannah Central impaled on six wooden stakes. I'm sure some of you have been wondering who is responsible for such an atrocity."

He paused to allow murmurs of agreement to seep throughout those gathered. "We have three bodies in the morgue that point the finger at a species known as _spotted hyenas_ ," he explained. "Now… for those of you who have yet to see the bodies, _this_ is what spotted hyenas look like."

Bogo placed a few pictures on the projector, the screen showing the officers gathered the three deceased hyenas. Several of the officers cringed from the pictures, even Judy, who had witnessed their deaths. "Not pretty, I know," Nick sighed, though Bogo didn't remove the pictures. "I am absolutely positive, however, that this is the first time you have all seen this species. Well there's a reason for that, but we'll get there."

"Spotted hyenas are extremely dangerous and extremely violent. _That_ is why none of you have even heard of such a species. Spotted hyena haven't 'officially' been seen in Zootopia for well over a hundred years, I believe. You won't find any mention of them in any history book, nor will you find any pictures of them anywhere," he continued. "From what I've heard, the entire species was exiled about a hundred years ago due to their continuous violent and uncivilized nature and their continued predation on the prey species of the city."

"Officer Wilde, I'm sure everyone is _dying_ to know how you know all this," Bogo said, leaning against the back wall of the Bullpen. Even _he_ didn't know any of this, so he was extremely curious as to why Wilde knew.

"I had a friend, before I was a cop, who had infiltrated the city and was living off the streets. I was one of the few mammals he ever had contact with, and he passed on lots of information about his species to me," Nick explained. "From what he's told me, there's a single clan of about eighty or so hyenas left and they live outside of the boundaries of the city in a big, run-down mansion."

Bogo clapped his hooves together. "Then we'll start there. I doubt that only three of these spotted hyenas would be able to take down an elephant, so there must be more. And if they do have a base of operations, that should be our first target," he growled. "McHorn, Francine, Delgato, and Fangmeyer, I want you to find that mansion and arrest everyone inside."

"Hold on, chief, it's not that simple," Nick interrupted the cape buffalo. "These mammals aren't under the jurisdiction of the ZPD. They have no names, no laws, and no records… you can't just barge into their home, even _with_ a warrant, and arrest them all."

"Then what do you suggest, Wilde?" Bogo growled, crossing his arms.

"By all means, send a team to find that mansion… but I would recommend staying as far away from it as possible. Every single hyena in that building is trained as a mercenary from birth, it's the only thing they can do for money. The moment that team got too close, they'd be executed without warning," Nick sighed.

"Mercenaries?" Bogo raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, mercenaries. There's a good chance that's why there were hyenas in this city. And I would bet that there are _still_ hyenas here in this city. Which means they have a target," the fox growled. "Both the badger and the elephant they are suspected of killing were John Does, I don't think that's a coincidence. I think that our next course of action should be to figure out who the hell those two were, that way we may be able to figure out who the hyenas are targeting, and maybe _why_."

"That seems like a fair assessment," Bogo nodded thoughtfully. "Very well, then. Hopps, Wilde, Wolfard, Summers, that will be your task. Dismissed."

"Hold on, I have something to say as well," Judy said, standing up in her chair. The chief gave her an exhausted look, but gestured towards her to proceed. "As many of you know, I found the bodies. But that isn't quite true, I found them while they were still alive. I watched them die."

She took a deep breath and continued before anyone could interrupt her. "There was another hyena, a fourth one. The three dead ones were going to attack me, but the fourth one appeared out of nowhere and killed the first three!" she explained. "I don't know why, but she spared my life and disappeared."

Judy turned around and hefted that fourth hyena's massive knife onto the table in front of her. The knife was nearly as large as she was and heavy, she was barely able to lift it. But as it clattered onto the table, she said, "She left this behind. Now, I don't know what was going on between this hyena and the other three, but she was interrogating them, asking _who hired them_."

"So… you're saying that they were hired to do this? So that must mean that they have a target and an employer, which at least means we have something tangible to charge them with," Bogo growled. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Judy nodded. "It is my belief that the fourth hyena is, for whatever reason, warring against her own species. I believe she may be willing to cooperate with us, if we can find her. If any of you spot a hyena with dark fur, wearing a trench coat with a white skull on it, do not attack her. Try and get her to talk without force."

"Very well, we'll keep that in mind," Bogo nodded, pushing off against the wall, and taking back his place at the podium. "With all that in mind, let's find and bring these hyenas to justice. Dismissed."

XXX

"Well… that was informative," Wolfard muttered. "At least we know what we're dealing with now."

"Yeah," Judy agreed. She and Nick followed Wolfard and Summers down to their little, closet office in the basement of the building.

"Welcome to our humble abode," the arctic wolf giggled as she and Wolfard stepped into the office and gestured for the smaller mammals to enter. "It's a little cramped."

"A little," Nick muttered as he and Judy entered the office, shutting the door behind them. The two desks took up most of the space in the room, even though they were pressed right up against the back wall.

Wolfard took a deep breath and collapsed into his chair. "So… I suppose we need to do some investigating," he said.

"Yeah… and I think I have the place to start," Judy growled, crossing her arms.

"Really?" the arctic wolf asked, plopping down into her own chair at her desk.

"I thought it was a bit weird that Bogo called _everyone_ off their assignments to help block off Savannah Central… and then he told me that he had made it priority number one because the mayor was bugging him about it," Judy explained. "So… there's a good chance the mayor knows something about all this."

"Hmm… I suppose that makes sense. Do you really think he's going to talk, though?" Wolfard asked, leaning back in his chair.

"We'll _make_ him talk. Lionheart's already had to deal with one scandal, he's not going to like the threat of another," Nick growled.

"Right, well, we'll leave that to you two, then," Wolfard nodded.

"Oh? What are you two going to do?" Judy asked, hoping that this wasn't some excuse for the two wolves to skimp out on their duties.

"Bogo usually assigns us in teams of two. Despite the fact that we're working together on this case, I think it might be best if we split up," Wolfard said. "I think that laptop we recovered from the badger's apartment is still relevant, it may contain clues as to what the hell is going on."

"I thought you weren't able to open it," Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… um… no, I can't," Wolfard admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. " _But_ I think I might know a few mammals who might. While you guys check to see what the mayor knows, Charlotte and I will take the laptop to a few professionals."

"That sounds like a plan," Judy nodded. "What about the elephant?"

"What about him?"

"No, I mean… in the badger's house, there was a hidden weapons room and a laptop, right? What did you find at the elephant's house?" Judy asked.

"We haven't found the elephant's home," Charlotte explained. "We don't have a name, we aren't getting back anything on print analysis, nor any record of any kind. We have no clue where he was living, what he was doing, or who he was."

"Right… well I think we should try and find that elephant's place too," Judy suggested. "Although there's no doubt in my mind that his death is connected to that badger's, I still want to see if he has that weapons room and maybe a laptop as well."

"Good thinking… Charlotte and I will look into that after we leave the laptop with my professional friends," Wolfard replied.

"So, meet back here before our shifts end?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, see you guys then. Hopefully, we'll find some useful info," Wolfard chuckled. "Maybe we can finish this case tonight."

"I certainly hope so," Judy chuckled. "Nick and I have another case that we're so close to finishing. But… I suppose this is more pressing. Especially if the mayor is involved."

XXX

 **I know, this should barely even qualify as a chapter. Just a lot of exposition here, not even really advancing the plot at all. Honestly, it's bad writing. But… I wanted to release something today, and this was something that I could type out and edit in just a few hours. We** ** _do_** **learn a lot here, about the hyenas and about what's going on in general. Some of you who have already started to make a few connections, hopefully this helps make even more. And I think this chapter starts to make the story make sense, so that's good. But overall, there's not much to say.**

 **Because this chapter was all just explanation and exposition, next chapter should actually advance the plot. But because of how short this chapter is (and considering that Spring Break starts next week) I** ** _should_** **actually have another chapter out Saturday night as well! Two in one week! So… stay tuned for that!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – PXR1000:

Author's Note:

 **I know, last chapter was unreasonably short… and a bit out of place, considering I said I wasn't going to be posting on any day except Saturdays. But… hopefully I didn't throw too many of you off, and you all had plenty of time to read that chapter before I posted this one (I even gave you an extra day, heh). Again, it was more of a celebration chapter more than anything else, but it did give a lot of plot explanation, so it** ** _is_** **important. In any case, this chapter is longer, and probably more interesting.**

 **A lot of you I have spoken to really like the dynamic I have established between Wolfard and Charlotte Summers (by the way, if anyone has any suggestions on what Wolfard's first name should be, I'm taking suggestions…) and want me to actually do something with them. Originally, they were nothing more than background characters, but your wish is my command, which is why we'll actually be following them this chapter. Not completely, of course, there's still going to be some Nick and Judy, but we're also going to get a lot more of Wolfard and Charlotte. And, before you ask, yes, I have decided what I want to happen to them (dun, dun, dun!). So… with all that in mind, please, enjoy!**

XXX

"So where exactly are we taking this?" the arctic wolf asked, gesturing towards the laptop in the timber wolf's paws as she followed behind him. They had left the precinct shortly after Nick and Judy, as they had to _find_ the laptop before they could do anything. Wolfard had driven them to a rather plain-looking apartment a few miles away from the precinct.

"You'll see," Wolfard chuckled as he climbed the stairs of the apartment building. Charlotte rolled her eyes behind him, knowing that he was being vague for dramatic effect. Wolfard led her through the complex, knowing exactly where he was going, as if he had walked the path a hundred times before.

He came to a stop at one of the apartment doors near the back of the complex. "Come on, Wolfard! What are we doing here?" Charlotte asked.

"Gosh, you're impatient today. Calm down, will you? We'll only be here a moment," the timber wolf chuckled as he knocked loudly on the door. The arctic wolf let out a huff and put her paws on her hips as they waited for the door to open.

The seconds ticked by, quickly turning into minutes, before Wolfard let out a deep sigh. "Come on… I know you're in there!" he shouted as he knocked again, even louder this time, as if he was trying to break the door down.

They waited several minutes once again before he let out a low growl. "Is it always like this?" Charlotte asked, trying to pass the time as they waited for someone to answer the door.

"Yes. He's probably wearing headphones and can't hear us…" the timber wolf sighed. "I wonder…" he trailed off as he reached out to grasp the doorknob. Slowly, he turned the knob before a grin rose on his face.

He turned back to Charlotte, who was shaking her head. The door was unlocked. "Are we just going to waltz in?" she asked as he pushed the door open. He didn't answer, stepping into the dark apartment with her following behind him. At first, it seemed as if no one was home, but loud _tap! tap! tap!_ echoed throughout the smallish apartment causing her ears to flatten against her head.

Wolfard led them towards a soft glow near the back wall of the apartment, where the tapping seemed to be coming from. Charlotte's eyes widened as she saw a white wolf sitting at an expensive-looking computer set, pounding away at the keys. Glasses sat on the bridge of his nose as he stared intently at the screen, amber eyes flicking back and forth. He wore headphones blasting music so loudly she could hear what he was listening to from several meters away, even with the sound of him beating the keyboard.

"Cousin!" Wolfard shouted as loud as he could, trying to speak over the sound of the headphones and the tapping. _Cousin?_ Charlotte thought to herself as the white wolf paused in his typing.

He glanced over at the police duo, eyes widening as he laid eyes on Wolfard. "Cousin!" he returned the sentiment, just as loudly as Wolfard, before grabbing a mouse nearby and clicking something. The loud music blasting through his headphones was silenced as he took them off his head and set them aside.

The white wolf pushed himself out of his chair and padded over to Wolfard and Charlotte. Her eyes bugged out of her head as he towered over her and Wolfard. She was several inches shorter than the timber wolf, being a different species, but the white wolf was over half a foot taller than Wolfard. He was probably the _largest_ wolf she had ever seen.

Wolfard embraced his cousin briefly before the white wolf asked, "What can I do you for?"

"I need you to tell me what this is," Wolfard said, holding up the laptop he had brought with him.

His cousin raised an eyebrow and took the laptop from Wolfard's paws. He took one look at it before deadpanning, "It's a laptop, cousin."

"I know that… I need you to tell me more. Like: what type of laptop is it? Who made it? And, if you can, try and unlock it," Wolfard responded. The white wolf nodded slowly before walking back over to his computer, taking the laptop with him.

"Who is this guy, Wolfard?" Charlotte whispered when she was sure the other wolf was busy fumbling with the laptop.

"That is my cousin, Wolfgang, he's a bit of a kook, yeah, but he's the best there is when it comes to tech," Wolfard explained.

"Cousin… there are no USB ports on this device," Wolfgang said, turning to look at the two police officers.

"I know."

"And there is no charging port either."

"I know that as well. I have no idea what the hell that thing is, do you see why I need you to figure that out?"

"Right," the white wolf muttered before turning back to his own computer, pulling up his keyboard again. The loud tapping resumed.

"I see where you get that from," Charlotte deadpanned as her ears flattened once more. "What makes him the best?"

Wolfard opened his mouth to respond, but the other wolf was faster, "I found it."

"Oh, that was fast, even for you," the gray wolf chuckled, padding over behind his cousin, Charlotte following reluctantly. They leaned over the white wolf's shoulders and looked at his computer screen.

"Here, the PXR1000," Wolfgang said, gesturing towards the picture on the screen, an exact match to the laptop that sat on his lap. "I actually designed its predecessor, the PXR900. A wonderful machine, if I do say so myself, but even I admit the 1000 model is much better."

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, the 1000 can't be hacked, no matter how good you are. So, sorry about that, even I can't get into it. While the 900 was typically used for undercover work, as it had self-destruct capabilities, the 1000 is definitely military. It's nearly indestructible, waterproof, fireproof, unhackable, untraceable, and can store well over forty terabytes of data," Wolfgang grinned giddily. "They're selling for five million bucks a pop on the dark web. Hmm… maybe I should buy one…"

"Military?!" Charlotte asked, disbelief evident in her tone. "What the hell is a military laptop doing here in Zootopia?"

"I can't tell you that," Wolfgang sighed. "But I can tell you that you're running out of battery."

"How can you tell?" Wolfard asked, Charlotte fuming beside him, still trying to comprehend what was going on.

"It's difficult to see on the black background, but here," the white wolf pointed towards an icon on the bottom left of the screen, "Is your battery life. And would you look at that? Green text on a black background? A little pretentious, if you ask me. Too matrix-y."

"How do we recharge it?" the timber wolf sighed, trying to get more answers. Wolfgang was easily distracted by fancy tech, but he was still the best of the best.

"Of course, I always preferred red on a black background, so who am I to judge?" Wolfgang chuckled, looking over his shoulder at his cousin. "Just leave it out in the sun for a few minutes. It's solar powered."

"Huh. Well… thanks anyways. You at least gave us something," Wolfard said.

"Yeah, no problem… hey… when did _she_ get here?" Wolfgang asked, pointing at Charlotte.

Both the timber and arctic wolves blinked a few times, realizing that the white wolf had been so distracted with his cousin and the fancy laptop that he completely missed the other wolf. "I've been here the entire time!" Charlotte growled.

"Really? I didn't notice you… who are you?" the white wolf asked.

Charlotte looked extremely offended for only a few seconds before a devious smirk rose on her face. "Oh, she's my-" Wolfard started to explain, but she cut him off.

"Girlfriend," she grinned. "I'm his girlfriend. Charlotte Summers, nice to meet you!" She grabbed Wolfard's arm and pulled him closer to her, smirking all the while.

"Arctic wolf named Summers, that's clever," Wolfgang deadpanned, but held out his paw for her to shake anyways. "Wolfgang Fritz, I'm his cousin."

She accepted the formality, shaking his paw. "Yeah, I know, I've been here the whole time," she said.

"Oh, right, sorry, I forgot," he chuckled, adjusting his glasses.

"Hold on a moment, Charlotte-" this time she stepped on Wolfard's foot, causing him to interrupt himself with a yelp of pain.

Wolfgang seemed completely oblivious to his cousin's pain, instead focusing on the arctic wolf. "You're a lucky man, Wolfard, she's gorgeous," Wolfgang grinned, "I'm almost jealous."

Wolfard didn't respond, he had collapsed to the floor, rubbing his aching foot. She had stepped on it hard. "Yes, he is _very_ lucky to have me," she giggled, glancing down at him, before looking back at the white wolf. "But there's no need to be jealous. I'm sure you could find someone if you left this room every once in a while. Though I doubt they'd be as flawless as me."

"And you have an ego the size of a blimp," he chuckled as she struck a pose, but she didn't reply to his comment. "But I'm afraid the single life is for me. I have lots of work to do."

"And so do we, coincidentally. So we'll just grab that," she said, snatching the laptop out of his lap, and turned towards the door. "And we'll be on our way."

"Right, of course. But that laptop isn't much more use than a paperweight at the moment, you'd might as well leave it here," he said.

"It's evidence, so we can't exactly _leave it here_ ," she chuckled, grabbing a hold of Wolfard's arm, and began dragging him outside.

"Right… see you later, cousin," Wolfgang waved at them as the door shut before turning back to his computer. He resumed his pounding on the keyboard, the loud taps echoing through the small room.

He typed for only a few minutes before he froze, fingers twitching at the keyboard, before he let out a deep breath. Silence reigned for a second or two before the tell-tale sound of a lighter being flicked on sounded. "I told them what you told me to," Wolfgang said softly, removing his fingers from the keyboard, and adjusting his glasses.

A hyena stepped out of the darkness, taking a deep drag on her cancer stick before shoving her lighter back into her flak jacket. "I know, I was here," she chuckled as she padded towards him.

He swiveled his chair, turning to face her before saying, "I wasn't able to get them to let go of the laptop."

"I know. It's fine, I never wanted them to," she said, exhaling through her nose, smoke following.

"Why did you have me tell them the truth? If you were going to give them so much info, why not let me give them the password?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"You _did_ lie to them, you told them you made the previous model when you made this one," she chuckled. "It's not their place to open that laptop."

"I'm sorry, you didn't give me anything to go on… I wanted to take a little bit of credit, though," he chuckled. "Then whose place _is_ it to open that laptop if not theirs? You must have someone in mind… otherwise you would've had me try harder to keep the laptop."

"You know, you're too smart for your own good sometimes," she growled, patting her sidearm. "Don't forget who's in charge here."

"I am. You have a chain of command… I report directly to the big boss himself," he grinned, crossing his arms, and leaning back into his chair. "I outrank you."

"In your dreams. If you outranked me, you wouldn't have accepted my request," she growled, but refrained from drawing her weapon.

"It never hurts to have a few favors from you," he explained. "And you're not the only one armed here." His own paw slipped down to his waist, moving aside his shirt to reveal he did indeed carry a weapon.

"Fine, whatever," she growled, crossing her arms. "You did as I asked without a mistake, so I suppose I owe you. Right?"

"Yeah… you can start paying me back in _any_ way you like," he grinned, standing from his chair, towering over her.

" _Trust me_ , you couldn't handle me at my best," she smirked, reaching up to grab the back of his head, and dragging him down so that his face was on level with hers. But he never lost that smirk. "Let alone when I'm _pissed the hell off._ "

She let him go, but he didn't immediately rise back to his full height. "Still, I had to try," he chuckled. "Your other option is five million. By Friday."

"Fine," she grunted as he collapsed back into his chair. "But I might be dead by then."

"Then I'll just send the bill to the big boss," he shrugged. "But your other option is still there, if you don't think you can make the deadline without dying."

"I'll get you the money in time, don't worry about it," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Though that girl was right, you should probably go out more often. Maybe if you weren't so pale, I'd take you up on your offer."

She grinned as his eye twitched in irritation. "It's genetic," he growled, crossing his arms as he did. "It has nothing to do with how little sun I get."

"Sure, keep telling yourself that," she shrugged. "But I have somewhere to be."

"You do? Did you get new orders?"

"Not quite. Say… do you have an envelope I can use?"

XXX

"Why'd you do that?" Wolfard growled as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Why'd I do what?" Charlotte grinned as she shut the passenger's door. _This is fun,_ she giggled internally. Maybe now he'll get it through his thick skull.

"You _lied_ to Wolfgang!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah? So? He clearly approved… he called me gorgeous," she chuckled, wide grin still in place as he started the cruiser.

"If he finds out… he'll kill us," Wolfard groaned, gripping the steering wheel tightly as he pulled out of the parking space.

She snorted loudly, "Yeah right. He's more of a nerd than a murderer, don't you think? And besides, how would he even find out? He looked to be about as dense as you."

"Hey!" he protested, but offered no other defense as she only gave him a dry look. "He's going to tell everyone else in my family… they'll ask to meet you… I'll have to come clean… and then he'll kill us."

"I don't think he's ever even held a gun," Charlotte chuckled. "And if you're _that_ worried, then maybe we _should_ start dating. That'll fix all our problems." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, reveling in her victory. Not even a complete idiot would miss out on this opportunity.

"No… that's too extreme, I don't want to have to do that to you," he grumbled as he took off towards the precinct, sirens flashing so he could avoid traffic. "Besides… he'd actually have to make contact with family in order to tell anyone. By the time he does that… he should have forgotten. Or assumed that I've already done so and it would be old news."

Her mouth hung open as she listened to him reassure himself. _How can he be_ _ **this**_ _dense!_ she internally screamed as she stared straight ahead. She barely heard him continue to mumble to himself about how he didn't have to worry about lying to his crazy family, and at least Wolfgang had been helpful. _How can I get more obvious than that?_ she groaned to herself.

The cruiser came to a stop at the precinct and Wolfard immediately hopped out, carrying the laptop with him. Charlotte was a bit slower, still thinking to herself. But she eventually let out a sigh and stepped out of the car, following Wolfard back into the precinct.

They headed straight to their office, Nick and Judy already waiting for them. "Oh… you're back already," Wolfard said.

"Yeah, so are you," Nick replied, leaning against the timber wolf's desk, Judy next to him. She held a piece of paper in her paws as well as her carrot pen. "So, what did you find out?"

"Not much, unfortunately. But… there are two things that are absolutely clear. One, this laptop is definitely unhackable. And two, there's a good chance this is a military matter," Wolfard said, setting the laptop down on his desk.

"Zootopia has-" Judy started to say, but was cut off.

"No military, yeah, I know. We all know… but that doesn't mean that other cities or countries don't have militaries. What if the reason the badger and the elephant are John Does is because they're foreign military?" Charlotte asked, crossing her arms.

"Well… that's an interesting thought," Nick admitted.

"And it's the only one that makes sense," Judy sighed in agreement. "But… what about these mercenaries? If this badger and elephant are foreign military… could that mean that the mercenaries are on our side? Protecting us?"

"Huh… and Lionheart hired them to get rid of these foreign ops, right?" Wolfard asked. "That would also make sense, and that would be where Lionheart is connected in all this."

"I gotta disagree with Carrots," Nick said. "From what I've heard, these hyenas would never help this city, unless a _really_ hefty sum was paid. And at that point, someone would've noticed and would've gone public with it. Everyone would know."

"That sounds about right," Judy said. "It doesn't well with me how these mercenaries killed that badger and that elephant."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that it's too flashy. Too showy. These are unnamed, unknown mammals, it would be _really_ easy to kill them and dispose of the evidence, and no one would be none the wiser," Judy growled. "But they're clearly trying to send a message."

"What if the message is 'hey, stop sending foreign agents?'" Charlotte tried, cracking a small grin despite the topic.

"I doubt it. They only ended up causing panic inside the city. If they wanted that result, they would've delivered the bodies back to their home country," Judy explained. "And Nick said these mercenaries were…"

"Professionals. The best of the best. They'll do anything and they get results," the fox nodded. "If, maybe, a little brutal and medieval."

Wolfard let out a loud sigh as he collapsed into his chair. "Well… we do know that the badger and the elephant are military. Whose military they belong to or why they're here, we don't know. _And_ we still don't know who hired those mercenaries or why," he growled, leaning back.

"Basically, yeah," Nick shrugged. "But Judy _did_ swipe something off of Lionheart's desk."

"Oh? What is it?" Charlotte asked, she too sitting down in her seat with a huff.

"It's a list of… well… something," Judy said. "It looked suspicious, so I snatched it off his desk."

"You just _took something off of Lionheart's desk!_ " Wolfard asked, raising his voice in his panic. "What will Bogo think?"

"Bogo doesn't need to know," Nick countered, crossing his arms, and glaring at Wolfard.

"Like I said it's a list. And one thing stands out," Judy said, passing the piece of paper over to Wolfard.

"Are you sure Lionheart's not gonna notice?" Wolfard asked. Judy could only shrug, but Nick shook his head a resounding no. "Fine then," he sighed, finally glancing at the piece of paper. And the four letters, three dates, and one word written on it.

 _W: 06-27-1990_

 _B: 08-16-1990_

 _E: 10-31-1990_

 _H: Unknown_

"I have no idea what the hell this is," Wolfard said, handing it back to Judy. "It probably wasn't worth taking."

"No, hear me out on this," Judy said. "Lionheart was being squirrely for sure. But… what if 'B' stands for badger and 'E' stands for elephant?"

"So? That's a stretch, if anything!" Charlotte protested. "It doesn't make any sense. I don't know what that is, but it's probably useless. Let's just hope Lionheart doesn't find out you took it."

"Right," Judy sighed, balling up the piece of paper and shoving it in her pocket. "So we still have nothing?"

"Yeah," Wolfard sighed. "And we're running out of time for today."

"Well, I'm going home," Nick spoke up before walking towards the door. "Maybe we'll find something tomorrow, but today's just about over. Carrots?"

"Hmm?" the rabbit hummed, looking up at him.

"Are you coming?" the fox asked, pausing at the door.

"Huh? Oh, no, not tonight," she said. "See ya tomorrow, Nick." He let out a sigh before walking out the door, offering a disappointed wave as he went. Judy let out a sigh and turned towards Charlotte and Wolfard. "What are you two going to do?"

"I'm probably going to head home too," Wolfard admitted, letting out a yawn. "Seeing cousin Wolfgang is always tiring."

"Ooh, me too!" Charlotte grinned as she followed Wolfard out of his chair and towards the door. "Maybe you can take me home… or maybe I'll just sleep at your place tonight!"

"I can take you home, it's no trouble," Wolfard said, exiting the room. Charlotte paused, throwing her paws up into the air, before following behind him again. Leaving Judy alone in their office.

Judy shook her head and chuckled to herself. She stood alone in that room for several minutes until she let out a deep breath. She would go home herself, but she figured that would accomplish nothing. She had a few hours until she passed out… might as well put in some overtime.

She padded out of the office and headed towards the lab building. She wondered if Dr. Tavi had sent those venom samples yet, she figured she would try and work on her other case while she had the time. Even if Bogo would be upset about it.

But as she walked towards the lab, a nagging feeling rose in the back of her mind. Although Charlotte had called the 'E' and the 'B' on that scrap piece of paper a stretch if they really stood for elephant and badger… Judy couldn't help but wonder if 'H' stood for hyena.

XXX

 **Boom, another chapter down. And this one much longer than the last. Lots of stuff to talk about, though, so let's start at the beginning. For those of you reading both this story and Immoral, you might recognize the character Wolfgang Fritz. In Immoral, he's a dangerous crime lord, here… he's more of a computer whiz. I thought it would be fun to put a cameo in this chapter, and I couldn't think of anyone better for Wolfard to visit with the laptop (if you know how the two are connected in Immoral). In any case, as far as I can tell, Wolfgang isn't going to be making another appearance.**

 **And we get a few answers in this chapter… as well as half a dozen other questions. Some of you might be able to start connecting the pieces, some of you might've done so already. All I can say is that next chapter… is gonna be fun!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 - Letter:

Author's Note:

 **Ah yes… the tension and the mystery is reaching its breaking point, don't you think? It's** ** _almost_** **time we got a few answers around here, eh? Well… we're getting very close to having all the pieces. There's just… one… last piece. This is quite an entertaining puzzle, no? And this is my favorite part of the puzzle, which is why I'm going to ask you to read this chapter very carefully. Who knows… you might solve this before Judy does! In any case, let's begin! Enjoy!**

XXX

Loud beeping caused Judy's eyes to snap open. She let out a loud groan as she gained her bearings. _Home,_ she realized as she slowly sat up in her bed. She leaned over and shut off her alarm, eyes still bleary from the early hour. _Seven thirty, I hate this,_ she grumbled to herself as she rolled off her bed.

It didn't help that she didn't sleep too well. For some reason… her bed was no longer as comfortable as she remembered. _I miss his couch,_ she sighed, realizing exactly why she had slept so poorly.

She had stayed late to try and get somewhere with the Rodentia case, but Dr. Tavi hadn't even sent in the venom samples to be tested. She had spent hours trying to get in contact with him, but he never answered. She even went to his store, only to find it closed for the night. By that time, she had invested so much into getting the venom samples, she figured she would just go to the library and try and find anything she could about snakes there. Nothing.

She had dragged her tired, broken, snake-filled mind back into her apartment at three in the morning. She had wondered briefly if she should've headed to Nick's place, maybe she could've at least gotten some decent sleep then. But she didn't want to disturb him, so she had just gone home instead.

She had barely had enough energy to slip off her uniform, but not enough to dress in her sleepwear. So she had slept naked. _Maybe it's a good thing I didn't go to his apartment, then,_ she managed to chuckle to herself as she searched for a towel, desperate for a shower.

She felt her muscles relax as the hot water ran over her body. She took a deep breath, the shower helping her wake up as she rubbed soap over herself. Deciding she could spare a few extra minutes, she stood underneath the hot spray for nearly five more minutes than she usually allotted herself when she showered.

She stepped out and dried herself off, cracking her neck after she was finished. She dressed slowly, slipping on a clean uniform, the only one she had left in her drawer. _I left so many of them at Nick's,_ she realized. _Why don't I just fucking move in with him?_

She paused before she put her chest plate on. Why _didn't_ she just move in with him? She was clearly more comfortable there, she slept better there, _and_ most of her uniforms were already there. And it wasn't like it would be hard to move the rest of her stuff there, she didn't have much. And she could finally get rid of the dingy, little apartment.

 _Because it would give him the wrong idea,_ she sighed. They had only been on _one_ official date! Moving in with him was moving too fast! But… at the same time, a part of her argued that it was for the sake of comfort. And she wouldn't have to pay rent anymore. She doubted he would ask her to split his rent.

"All right, that settles it… I'm asking him about it today," she mumbled to herself, strapping on her belt, completing her ensemble. Cracking her neck again, she checked to make sure her gun and her pen were in place before she walked towards the door.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and prepared to step through the doorway, but paused when something fell to the floor. Raising an eyebrow, she bent down to examine what had been stuck in her doorway. It was a plain, white envelope.

Rolling her eyes, she picked it up, assuming it was a bill or maybe some sort of business promotion. _I have a mailbox,_ she grumbled before turning the envelope over to see what it was. To her surprise, the front of the envelope was blank.

Narrowing her eyes, she tore open the envelope and pulled out the piece of paper inside. Her eyes darted across the page as she read it, eyes widening with each word that she read. Folding it again, she shoved the piece of paper in her pocket and crumpled up the blank envelope, tossing it into the trash near her desk.

She checked the time while she was over there. _Seven fifty, I can still make it!_ she grinned happily before turning towards the door. The letter changed things, and the others _had_ to see it.

XXX

Clawhauser looked up to see a gray blur rocketing into the precinct, coming to a stop at his desk. He didn't blink twice, quickly identifying the bunny that had ran into the building as Judy. "Hey, what's up Judy?" he said, leaning on his desk, and stuffing a donut into his mouth.

Judy panted to regain her breath before she looked up at him, nonverbally asking if she had made it on time. Clawhauser rolled his eyes, but nodded in affirmation. The little rabbit pumped her fist in the air in celebration before addressing the cheetah verbally, "Nothing much, Clawhauser… I still have a few minutes before roll call, right?"

"Yeah, why?" he asked, letting his paw roam around his desk, trying to find another donut without actually looking away from the cheerful rabbit.

"I wonder if Nick will make it on time," she grinned, looking back at the door as she leaned on his desk.

"Oh, he's already here," the cheetah said, finally giving up searching for the donut blind, and looking down at his desk. Smirking when he found it hiding underneath a pile of papers, he stuffed it into his mouth as well.

"Huh?" was the bunny's only response.

"Yeah, he got here five minutes ago, he's waiting in the Bullpen. I was a bit confused when you weren't with him, I thought you two had moved in together or something," he said, mouth still full of donut as he spoke, scattering sprinkles everywhere.

"No, not yet. Huh… he beat me here," she muttered, crossing her arms. _I shouldn't have taken so long in the shower,_ she grumbled. But another part of her was proud of Nick, he had decided to be early, despite not having her harping on him to do so.

"Yeah, weird," Clawhauser noted. "Did something happen between the two of you? Is this his way of saying 'I'm sorry?!" he gasped, bringing his paw up to his mouth in shock.

"What? No, nothing happened between us. I think I might've actually cured his acute tardiness," she chuckled, turning towards the bullpen. "In any case, I should probably get to roll call."

"Yeah, see ya later, Judy," Clawhauser nodded before pausing as she walked away. "Wait! Did you say you hadn't moved into his apartment _yet?_ " She chuckled and shook her head, but didn't address him otherwise. "Oh, come on Judy! Ya gotta give me _something_!"

She continued to give him no response as she turned the corner and padded towards the Bullpen. Sure enough, Nick was already sitting in their chair, Wolfard was in his usual spot as well. But Charlotte was nowhere to be seen, despite most of the officers already being present.

Judy hopped up into their seat, but instead of sitting next to him like she usually did, she decided to try something different. He was sitting in the center of the chair, as that was the most comfortable spot, but when he tried to scoot over to give her space, she grabbed his arm and shook her head. He raised an eyebrow, but she only smirked at him.

She sat down in between his legs, pressing her back against his chest. "Hey Nick," she greeted, letting her ears fall against the back of her head so they wouldn't be in his face.

"Uh… hey Judy. What are you doing?" he asked, completely baffled by her behavior. But, he did have to admit, it was rather comfortable with her sitting in between his legs like this. He had to resist the temptation to wrap his arms around her, he wasn't sure how she would take that.

"Sitting," was her simple response.

"Yeah, I see that… why are you sitting-"

"Shh," she cut him off before he could finish, just as Bogo made his way into the room. "Just go with it." He could only shrug and lean back, which she did as well, keeping the back of her head against his chest.

If Bogo noticed, he made no comment towards it as he handed out assignments. The room quickly cleared, leaving just Wolfard, Nick, and Judy in the room, Charlotte having not arrived yet. "And you three, I expect a progress report on my desk by the end of the day, am I clear?" he growled, crossing his arms.

"Yes sir!" Judy immediately said. A single progress report was no problem, it could've been worse. He could've asked for each of them to hand in a progress report. She supposed he didn't want to read four reports practically the same.

"Tell Summers that when she arrives. Dismissed."

XXX

They waited in Wolfard's small office for Charlotte to appear, but as the minutes turned into a half hour, Judy let out a loud sigh, "Wow… I wonder what's taking her so long."

"She's probably stuck in traffic, unlike us three, she lives clear on the other side of Sahara Square," Wolfard explained.

"Maybe you should call her, just in case," Nick suggested, leaning against one of the desks.

"Yeah, we need an ETA from her, I actually found something this morning," Judy grinned.

Wolfard raised an eyebrow, but nodded and stepped outside, already dialing her number. "You found something? What is it?" Nick asked, turning towards her.

"It's a letter… or some sort. I think that hyena I was talking about the other day sent it," she explained, crossing her arms.

"Oh? Does it have her name on it?" he chuckled.

"No… the envelope was blank, as was the space where you say 'sincerely, name.' But after reading the letter, it could _only_ have been sent by her," she affirmed.

"Right… what does the letter say?"

"I'll show you once Charlotte gets here… it's kinda long," she chuckled. Nick only rolled his eyes and leaned against the desk again, waiting for Wolfard to come back with the arctic wolf's ETA.

It was quiet for a few minutes until Wolfard stepped back into the room. "She should be here in a few minutes. Her car is in the shop, so she had to walk," he explained as he walked back over to his desk, sitting down in his chair.

"She didn't call and ask for you to pick her up?" Judy asked, raising an eyebrow. If Charlotte needed something, she usually never hesitated to ask her partner for help.

"She… uh… she might've," the timber wolf shrugged. "I kinda got a new phone a few days ago… I must've forgotten to give her my new number."

"Wow… she must be pissed," Nick chuckled.

"If she was upset… she didn't voice it over the phone," the wolf explained.

Judy thought for the moment before she said, "Hey Wolfard… she asked if she could stay at your place last night, why didn't you let her?"

"Oh… I, uh… thought she was kidding," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

"So… you didn't know that her car was in the shop?"

"No, I didn't. She's been acting… strange lately, I've been doing my best to ignore her behavior," he explained. "I thought her asking to stay at my place was just more of her recent… eccentrics."

"Strange how?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, uh… she told cousin Wolfgang that we were dating. Which we aren't, of course. And the strangest thing is that he bought it…" the timber wolf mumbled. "And a few other weird things…"

Nick shot Judy a strange look, to which she only shrugged. She had no idea what to do, _if_ she should do anything at all. But she saw a smirk begin to tug at the edges of the fox's muzzle, causing her to roll her eyes. _Here we go,_ she sighed internally.

"You know, Wolfard-" Nick started, but was cut off as the door flew open and Charlotte burst into the room, panting heavily.

"I'm here! I'm here!" she said, bending over, and taking deep breaths. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she panted, clearly struggling for breath. Finally regaining it, she stood up straight and leaned against the doorframe with a groan, "Now I know what Clawhauser feels like after running up a flight of stairs."

"You seem out of breath," Nick observed dryly.

"It's been awhile since I've had to run that far," she admitted with a small grin.

"How far did you have to run?" Judy asked.

"Oh… uh… about a kilometer and a half," the arctic wolf said after a brief moment of thought.

"That's barely a mile," Wolfard deadpanned.

"I know!" Charlotte replied, putting her paws on her hips. "I haven't had to run a mile since the academy. So, uh… what's on the agenda for today?" she asked, trying to draw the topic away from her lack of stamina.

"I got a letter," Judy said, pulling the piece of paper out of her pocket. "I was waiting to read it until you got here."

"Oh… from who?" she asked, padding over to her desk, and sitting down.

"It's blank, but I'm pretty sure it's from the hyena I was talking about yesterday," Judy replied.

"And what makes you think that? I mean… it's blank, right?"

"Well, according to Nick, she probably doesn't have a name," the rabbit crossed her arms. "How about I just read the letter and let you all decide for yourselves what it means?"

"Fine," Charlotte shrugged, the two males in the room nodding in tandem. Judy returned their nod and cleared her throat, unfolded the piece of paper, and began to read it.

 _Dear Mr. Conrad,_

 _I've been watching you. Don't be alarmed, my friend, I don't plan to hurt you. Rather, I'm quite impressed by what I've seen and heard… as well as what research I've done on you. And I've decided to trust you._

 _Which is why I left something on the big boss' desk. Something… inconspicuous. Something that he would never notice. I think… I think you've already found it. It's something only he and I understand, but you will too in time._

 _I've… lost something recently, and you've picked it up. Instead of coming for it… I have decided to allow you to hold onto it. You should have some idea of what it is by now, but you still have no way of opening it._

 _Which is the purpose of this letter. You see… trust for me doesn't come easily. Although I trust you with my… important personal item, I cannot allow you to just… open it, without proving yourself._

 _I left the key buried in the heart, just as surely as the sun sets in the West. Buried right next to Yorick. Alas… poor Yorick, he was a fellow of infinite jest. And yet, he is no more. To tell you the truth… Mr. Conrad, I need your help. Which is why I hope you decide to accept this little game of mine, so that I may trust you completely._

 _If you choose not to play my game, please take my important personal item back to where you found it. If you decide not to play my game, nor return my item, then I will come for it. And that won't end well. For you, or your friends._

 _Sincerely,_

"And it's just a blank space," Judy finished, folding the letter again. "Well?"

"I don't think that was meant for you," Charlotte deadpanned.

"I found it wedged into my door," Judy replied, crossing her arms. "I don't think someone could make a mistake like this."

"Are you sure there isn't a Mr. Conrad in your building?"

"Positive. I think Mr. Conrad is referring to me," Judy nodded slowly. "It's a reference to… something. She's testing me… and if I pass her test, then she'll give me the password to the laptop. And the answers we so desperately need."

"Fine, let's say that's what's going on here," Charlotte said, crossing her arms. "Then what does it all mean?"

"Well… I think the big boss is Lionheart and the inconspicuous thing I found on his desk was that piece of paper," the rabbit explained, pulling the scrap of paper out of her pocket as well.

"That… that makes sense," Nick nodded. "Then… you were probably right about what those letters mean."

"Maybe," Judy shrugged. "She said that I would understand in time. But what's concerning me more is her talk of the key. That must be the password to the laptop."

"This is still crazy," the arctic wolf sighed. "She talks of a heart and someone named Yorick. Back me up on this Wolfard, this is insane, right?"

"It seems to be the only plausible explanation," the timber wolf replied. "But yeah, it is a bit crazy. Why you, Judy?"

"I… I don't know. I met her in that alley and she protected me from what I have to assume is her family. Or friends. I don't know what I did that warrants trusting me… especially if this means what I think it does," Judy shrugged.

"What do you think it means?"

"If the laptop is military… then that must mean she's military too. And so are the badger and the elephant. And whatever this 'W' is," the rabbit looked down at the piece of paper in her paws. "And I don't think they're enemies. That cements these mercenary hyenas as the enemy. But other than that…"

"Sounds solid to me," Nick was the first to respond. "If this military hyena wants to trust Judy, I think we should play her game. She'll give us the answers we need, and I think she'll be helpful down the road if more of the mercenary force shows up."

"Agreed," Wolfard nodded immediately.

"I _still_ think this is insane," Charlotte mumbled. "But if it'll give us some answers, why the hell not? I mean… it seems to be a puzzle, I don't think it'll be… particularly dangerous."

"Danger isn't what I'm worried about," Judy chuckled. "Although she doesn't expressly say it, there's probably a time limit. Or at the very least, we can assume there is. Otherwise she'll come for the laptop, and I have a _bad_ feeling about what that entails."

"As do I. Which means we need to figure this out as quickly as possible," Nick growled.

"Agreed, but it'll do us no good to have all four of us working on this at once. And Bogo wants a report on his desk by the end of our shift," Wolfard put in.

"All right… I'll write the report and then work on deciphering the letter. Wolfard, you have the best nose out of all of us. If we can track her down, maybe we can avoid this entire game and get some straight answers," Judy said, taking charge.

"Yeah, I can do that… I'll just go to the alley those hyenas were killed in and start there," the timber wolf smirked.

"She masks her scent with cigarettes, but hyena must smell unique, so you should be able to pick it out of a crowd, and hopefully over the cigarettes too," Judy sighed.

"What about us?" Charlotte asked.

"We still need to find out where that elephant lived. So… I guess go door to door to apartment buildings and ask the supers about strange elephants that might not have had a name," Judy shrugged.

"Can do," Nick grinned. "Now?"

"Yeah, we only have… eleven hours until our shift ends. Hopefully the two of you can cover the entirety of Sahara Square by that time," Judy nodded. The three predators nodded and left the room, leaving Judy alone.

XXX

Two hours passed before Judy had finished the report Bogo had asked for. It was a simple overview of what they had done and what they planned to do. She had been hesitant, but included the letter and the piece of paper she had taken off of Lionheart's desk in the report. The letter didn't say that she couldn't ask for help, nor tell Bogo of what was going on.

Desperate to get to working on deciphering the letter, she dashed to the chief's office as quickly as she could. Pausing outside of his office to compose herself, she knocked on the door as loudly as her small bunny paws would allow. Bogo's gruff voice came from within the room, "Enter!"

Giving the door a strange look, she glanced up at the door handle sitting far out of her reach. "It's me chief! I can't… reach the handle," she called out, wondering why he didn't open the door for her. He usually knew it was her from her knock.

It was silent for a moment as she stared at the door, wondering why Bogo wasn't just opening it himself like he always did. But his response came hardly a minute later, "Hopps? What do you want?"

"I, uh… have the report you asked for," she replied cautiously. She wasn't sure what was going on, but this wasn't normal.

"I don't have time for that, come back…" he trailed off, as if he had been cut off, and it was silent again for another solid minute. "Hold on, Hopps, I'm coming."

Her eyebrows raised as she heard Bogo's chair move against the floor and his heavy footsteps as he made his way towards the door. She stood a bit straighter as the door opened, but resisted the urge to salute him. He never liked being saluted unnecessarily. "You have the report?" the cape buffalo said as the door opened.

His entire form blocked the door and his hard glare clearly said that he was busy with something. _He's hiding something in there,_ she realized. "Yes, I do," she said carefully. "Can I come in?"

"No. Just give me the report and get back to work," he growled. Her eyes narrowed, _he's definitely hiding something._ But she handed him the report nonetheless. He practically snatched the report from her paws, but she didn't leave immediately.

Rather, she scrunched up her nose and asked, "Are you smoking?" She could smell the scent of cigarettes emanating from his office. _Is that what he's trying to hide?_ she wondered.

"Yes, now, you are dismissed."

"Chief, I didn't know you smoked," she tried to say, but the door shut in her face before he could answer. She continued to stare at the door for a few minutes before padding away. _Unless he's hiding_ _ **someone**_ _who smokes… no… it couldn't be, right?_

Bogo let out a loud sigh as he leaned against the door. She really was one of his sharpest officers. But he eventually turned to glare at the mammal sitting at his desk, in his chair. Pistol pointed right at him. "She's good, isn't she? You should consider appointing her to detective, eh? Oh, and sorry about the gun… I had to make sure you did the right thing," the flak-jacket sporting hyena chuckled.

"Is this a game to you?" Bogo growled, marching over to his desk, hard glare still in place.

"Yes. It would do neither of us any good if she saw me. I'd have to shoot both her and you," she darkened. "You did the right thing." She lowered the weapon and holstered it before taking a drag on her cigarette.

"I'd really appreciate you not smoking in my office. She wouldn't have been so suspicious if she didn't smell those damn cancer sticks," Bogo growled, sitting down at one of the chairs across from his desk.

"I opened a window," she smirked. "Give me the report." Bogo rolled his eyes and handed her the report.

As she glanced over it, he decided to keep talking, "I did as you asked and kept quiet about my knowledge of… your operations. Care to explain why I was never informed of your extended family? And how that fox knows, and not me?"

"You played that very well, and no, you are on a need-to-know basis on my operations and the movements of my… _friends_. The leak that the fox spoke of has already been taken care of. Just continue to keep quiet and keep your nose out of that house."

"I work for Lionheart, not for you."

"If you choose to be uncooperative, I will just eliminate you. You are replaceable, Bogo… I am not," she growled before leaning back in his chair, blowing smoke from her nostrils. "Well… it looks like she got the letter and the scrap of paper. And she has the laptop too. Everything seems to be going as planned."

"Good, now get out." She rolled her eyes, but did as he asked nevertheless, standing from his seat, and padding towards the open window. "Hold on… I still get to ask one question, right?"

"I suppose it's the least I can do."

"Why Hopps… Judy? Why not someone more capable? And does X and the big boss know that you're communicating with cops?" he growled, crossing his arms.

She pulled something from behind her back, a hook, and attached it to the window sill. "That's more than one question," she smirked.

"I've done enough for you from this little visit that I deserve to have them answered," he affirmed, narrowing his eyes.

"Fine. That little bunny rabbit is the most capable officer on the force, even more so than you. Her deductive reasoning is impressive and I need a fresh pair of eyes on this issue. She is the _only_ one I can trust with this _classified_ information. Big boss does not know, and X is currently… indisposed," she answered angrily, stepping out of the window, and positioning herself to rappel down the side of the building.

"Indisposed? What does that mean?" Bogo asked, but it was too late, she was gone. He let out a loud curse and rushed over to the window to see if he could catch a glimpse of her escaping… but she had already disappeared.

Grumbling, he sat down at his desk, in his chair, and thought for a moment. Taking a few deep breaths, he opened his desk draw and pulled out a few pieces of papers. "Bodyguard duty," he sighed as he double checked to make sure they were the right forms. _Now… who to assign…_ he pondered, grabbing his glasses, and setting them on his nose.

XXX

 **I know, this chapter is a little dense. I was trying to get out everything I needed in a single chapter instead of trying to split this up again. We're reaching the breaking point with the tension here, and now you have all the information you need. Sort of. Hopefully some of you well-read folks can decipher that letter before the next chapter comes out.**

 **And we also learn a lot a lot in this chapter. Bogo knows something about whatever's going on, but is forbidden to speak. That letter, of course. Judy wanting to move in with Nick, but not being able to tell him about it yet. Charlotte's little dilemma. All sorts of good stuff here, I hope you all caught it all. In any case, next chapter we should be getting some answers… right?! We'll find out next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Skull Marks the Spot:

Author's Note:

 **Ah… lots of stuff to talk about here. One of you… sigh, I'm not even surprised anymore by this, but congratulations Dragon-God, you got the letter correct. But, I did put this puzzle in the story so people could solve it. Unfortunately there's no reward, just the satisfaction of figuring it all out. So, again, good job. I would also like to thank Dracologistmaster for helping me with this chapter, it's so much better now. This chapter we start with Nick and Charlotte, by the way. So please, enjoy!**

XXX

Nick had managed to best Charlotte in a game of rock-paper-scissors and won the right to drive the cruiser to the nearest apartment building. It was just a guess at where the elephant was staying, but if Judy was right… hopefully they'd find a building where the super had an elephant that had gone missing… or one with no name.

As he drove to their first stop Nick couldn't help but think of what Wolfard had told him and Judy as they waited in his office. About Charlotte's strange behavior. He wasn't entirely sure how to broach the subject with her… but he had a feeling Judy assigned the two of them as temporary partners was for him to figure out what was going on between Charlotte and Wolfard.

Eventually, he decided that he might as well get straight to the point, there was no reason for him to beat around the bush. "So, Wolfard says you've been acting a bit strange," he said as they pulled up to the first complex. "Anything you want to talk about?"

Charlotte blinked a few times as she got out of the car, unsure of how to respond to that. "Strange? I dunno… am I acting strange?" she asked, shutting the door just a bit harder than she meant to.

With a raised eyebrow, Nick glanced between the arctic wolf and the door of the cruiser. "I'd say just a bit," he answered with a grin. "Seriously, though, it might help to talk about it. Get another perspective on things." He walked towards the entrance of the complex, Charlotte trailing behind him.

"Oh… well, actually, I do have something that I've been meaning to ask you," she admitted as they entered the apartment building.

"I'm all ears, Charlotte," he replied as they approached the front desk. "And don't worry, I promise not to say a word to Wolfard."

"H-how do you know?" she asked, stuttering slightly in surprise.

"Please, Charlotte, I'm not an idiot. I could see it a mile away… well… smell it," he chuckled. "You're in heat, aren't you?"

She let out a little _'eep'_ when she heard those words from Nick. "You… uh… can tell?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah… my nose is nearly as good as yours, you know," he chuckled as he made it to the front desk. A goat sat behind the desk, glaring at the two officers as they stopped in front of her. "Good morning, ma'am, my name is Nick Wilde and this is Charlotte Summers, we're with the ZPD," he said with a smile, his mask in place as the goat shot him a hateful look. But he continued to be as friendly as he possibly could. "I was hoping you could tell me if you've had any elephant tenants that have gone missing?"

"No one's missing to our knowledge," the goat growled immediately.

"Okay, here's my card. Please call if that changes," he stated before turning around and walking away as quickly as he could. It was always difficult to deal with mammals who immediately hated him because he was a fox, despite the fact that he was also a cop. He glanced back at Charlotte, who was still following behind him. "I still won't say anything to Wolfard."

"Well… that might actually be part of the problem. Maybe you saying something to Wolfard would help," she muttered. "The truth is, well… I like Wolfard. A lot. And he's being… well, stupid. It's difficult to hear that he thinks I'm being strange. That's why I wanted to ask you exactly how you managed to get Judy to date you… because I was wondering if I could do something similar with Wolfard."

"That depends. Do you think you can get him to spend the night at your place a couple times and then snap a photo and send it to Clawhauser?" Nick asked, smirking widely. "If that doesn't work, you could always just kiss him."

"The problem is, even if I just walked up to him and kissed him, told him I really liked him, and asked him to rail me… he'd just pass it off as a joke," she grumbled as they made it out of the building.

He let out a quiet sigh at his failed attempt before becoming serious once again. "Okay, let me ask you this: how good of a cook are you?" he asked, and idea brewing in his mind as he climbed into the cruiser and started it. "I might have an idea that could help get things started."

"Oh, um… I'm a decent enough cook. I mean, I've been living on my own for years… so I kinda have to be," she admitted. "You have an idea?"

"Your car's in the shop, right?" he asked, to which she nodded her head. "Well, maybe you can convince Wolfard that, until your car is repaired, which may take a few days, it would be easier for the both of you if you stay at his place. Cook a nice meal, set the right atmosphere for the first time, friendly, yet with a hint of something more." He pulled out of the parking space and made it onto the road, heading towards the next apartment complex.

"It'd have to be a hell of a lot more than just a hint," she muttered. "He's about as dense as a black hole. But yeah… convincing him to let me stay at his place is a good idea, why haven't I thought of that? Oh wait, I did! He didn't take to it, if you remember correctly."

Nick chuckled at the black hold comment. "True, sorry… I forgot about that," he sighed.

"You see… uh… well, you're the best hustler on the force. That's not a compliment, by the way," she sent a glare his way. "But… it's looking like the only way I can get this through his think skull is with some help. From you. Tricking him into dating me."

Nick gave her a wide smirk. "I think I'll take that as a compliment anyways," he chuckled, eyes darting back to the road. "Alright then, I could tell him to meet me somewhere, except you'd show up instead. Nice restaurant, not fancy, but still a dress-up sort of thing. It would give you a change to show him you're serious and show off a bit to really drive home the fact that you're into him," he suggested, knowing that, in the end, Wolfard would be a bit upset with him… but if it worked, hopefully not too upset.

"No… then he'd just pass it off as you pranking him," Charlotte grumbled. "Have… have you ever seen him drinking before? Or rather… do you know what his limit is?"

"Yeah, he and I have been to a few bars before. His limit is around four or five drinks, if I remember correctly," Nick answered. "He's not a lightweight, but he's no heavy drinker either. You just have to be careful, he's worse than some of the drunks we bring in. You know, the talkative ones that just don't stop."

"Ooh, I was hoping he was that type of drunk," she chuckled. "Hey… Judy's our team leader, right?"

"Yeah, she is," he responded with a curious expression. "Why, is something wrong?"

"Well… could you tell her to order Wolfard to take me home with him? That would be a great start. That's force him to take me in! Then I can get him drunk!" she giggled excitedly.

Nick couldn't help the grin that sprung to his face. "I think I can arrange that," he smirked. "Just remember this is to get a date… not to get 'railed' as you put it."

"Maybe," she smirked back at him. "Though it might pay for him to wake up with me naked in his arms. That might get it through his skull… or at least open it up to the possibility that I'm serious."

Nick burst out laughing as he imagined Wolfard's expression if that actually happened. "I have to admit, his expression would be priceless," he chuckled as they pulled up to a rundown-looking apartment complex and made their way inside.

"Oh, I'd love to see his expression," she giggled. "Maybe I'll take a picture and text it to you. That's how you got Bogo to force you and Judy to sign those forms, right?"

The grin never left his face as he responded with, "It was, except I won't be sharing that picture, unlike Ben. I can already see the horror on his face as he tries to remember what the hell happened." He continued to laugh hysterically as they entered the building and walked up to the front desk. He gestured for Charlotte to take this one, as he was too busy laughing to talk to the old ram sitting behind the counter. Not to mention the glare he was receiving told him that the ram wouldn't speak to the fox.

"Uh… good morning sir. My name is Charlotte Summers and this is Nick Wilde, we're with the ZPD," the arctic wolf said, flashing her badge. "We're looking for a missing elephant. Are there any elephants that haven't… uh… been seen in a while that might've lived here?"

"We don't rent to elephants, small mammals only," the ram replied gruffly and gave a dismissive wave of his hoof. "They'd just tear this old building to the ground."

"Right… thank you for your time," Charlotte mumbled, turning around, and walking out of the building. "Well… he was delightful. Anyways, yeah, I can't wait to see his expression… but I hope it's not horror."

"Good point, maybe shock would have been a better word," the fox said as they made it out of the building and to their car. "Hopefully this next place will be a bit friendlier than the last two. But in all seriousness… good luck getting through Wolfard." He started the car and started towards the next apartment complex on the list.

"Yeah, thanks… it'll be an uphill battle. But at least it's nice to know being dense runs in the family, his cousin has it too," she muttered before letting out a sigh. "So, uh… how are things with Judy?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation moving as Nick continued to keep his eyes on the road.

"Things are going well," he answered with a genuine smile. "She's happy and that makes me happy. She can be a real pawful when she's worked up, though." The fox couldn't help the small laugh that left his muzzle.

"Worked up, huh?" she grinned. "No better way to calm her down than with a bit of foxtrotting, eh?"

Nick burst out laughing again. "Did you get that from Ben? That was a good one, but no, we haven't gotten that far into our relationship just yet," he stated, grin still on his face. "I may tease her about it and many other things… but I don't think she's ready yet." His expression softened as he thought of his bunny.

"Well… I would think her being a bunny and everything…" she trailed off, grin still wide on her face. "Perhaps all you should do is ask and she'd leap at the idea! That's a luxury I don't have, as Wolfard would just laugh me off."

"I think it's still a bit early to ask. We've only been together for a few days," he replied. "Also, I'd be careful with stereotypes, you know how Judy hates them. And I'm not a big fan either, you know."

"Ah, right… sorry," she chuckled. "I know what stereotypes are like, and I hate 'em too. Wolves can't go five seconds without howling my ass!"

Nick let out a short, poorly imitated, howl and watched as Charlotte's ear twitched. He knew he had played on her instincts to answer, but it was all in good fun. It was impressive, however, that she had managed to not reply in kind. "You know, we actually used howling to get past a bunch of wolves during the missing mammals case," he explained, remembering the first days he had spent with the rabbit he now called partner.

"Some of us can't help it, alright!" she growled, crossing her arms.

Grin still wide on his face, he let out a loud chuckle. "Oh, come on, it was just a bit of fun. But if it helps, I promise not to howl again," he relented as they pulled into the parking lot of yet another apartment complex. "This is all kinds of fun, isn't it?" he asked sarcastically.

"It's hella boring, if that's what you mean," she sighed in return, though she was immensely thankful he wouldn't howl again. It was extremely difficult to resist the urge… "But it has to be done. I don't really think we're going to cover every single apartment complex in Sahara Square today, though…"

"I doubt it. We'll probably be back at it tomorrow as well," he grumbled. "Alright, let's get this over with."

XXX

Judy sat at Wolfard's desk, mumbling to herself, and glaring at a computer screen as she wrote things down on a piece of paper. She had been working all day trying to decode the letter by searching words that stood out on Zoogle. She was so distracted that she didn't even notice Wolfard making his way into his office.

"Hey Judy," he greeted as he plopped down into his chair. Judy's ears swiveled when she heard him, but she made no attempt to greet him in return. "No luck in the alley. Too much blood and the cigarettes she smokes are apparently really strong. They may be some sort of masking agent."

"Or she smokes so much the smoke has _become_ her scent," Judy chuckled as she wrote something else on the piece of paper.

"Perhaps, but there was likely some sort of masking agent in play here. In any case, I got nothing from the alley or the surrounding area," he sighed, tail drooping slightly. "Any luck on the letter?"

"Yeah… I think I've got something, actually," Judy muttered, finally turning away from her laptop. "While you spent the last few hours searching for… we should really give her a name… the hyena, I've been reading _The Heart of Darkness_."

"She doesn't have a name, if you believe Nick," Wolfard snorted. He was no good at naming things.

"Hmm… she just leaves a blank space, maybe we can call her Blank?" Judy asked.

"Blank, huh? I guess that'll work," he chuckled. He paused, thinking to himself quietly, before asking, "What's _The Heart of Darkness_?"

" _The Heart of Darkness_ is a novel by Joseph Conrad, one of the many Conrads that I pulled up when I searched the name. But you can see why this stood out, right? The letter said something about burying the key in the Heart."

"I can see why that would get your attention," he agreed. "Did you find anything while you were reading?"

"Thankfully it's not a long book," she chuckled. "But yes, I did find something. The Heart refers to this place called the Congo. I did some research and it turns out the Congo is a river, surrounded by dense jungle. Either she wants us to go all the way to Africa… or she wants us to go to the next best thing."

"Which would be?"

"The Rainforest district,"

"Well, that's more than we had before," he sighed. "Any idea who or what Yorick is? I bet that's another piece of the puzzle."

"Not a clue. I keep searching Yorick on Zoogle, but all I'm getting is a guy called Shakespeare. I don't know what I'm doing wrong," she huffed.

"Oh, well I'll give you a paw then. I've got nothing better to do anyways," he shrugged, before realizing she was using his laptop. "Or maybe not. Oh, by the way, have you gotten any word from Nick and Charlotte?"

"I haven't heard from either of them, but they should be on their way back," she muttered as she continued to scroll through the provided links, finding only things about Shakespeare and something about a _Hamlet_. Whatever that was. The little descriptions under the links were of zero help.

Seemingly on cue, the fox and arctic wolf opened the door to the office and walked in, shutting the door behind them. Nick walked over to the desk Judy was sitting at and pulled himself onto the desk top. "Well, we've got nothing," he grumbled. "Please tell me you two had more luck than we did."

"I've got nothing either," Wolfard said. "She's going to be pretty difficult to track. But Judy thinks she's found something."

"Yeah, I think I cracked a piece of the letter. I'm fairly certain that the key is somewhere in the Rainforest district," the rabbit explained, sending a grin towards Nick.

"Well hallelujah we have a lead," Nick cheered exaggeratedly. "So, who's going to look for this key? Or is there something else we need to know?"

"I think there's more to it. Unless you know who or what 'Yorick' is, I doubt we'd be able to actually find the key," Judy sighed.

"So… we're no closer to solving this than we were before?" Nick grumbled.

"We know where it is, we just don't know how to find it. I just need a few more paws to help with the research," Judy explained.

"Hey Charlotte, how about you and Wolfard go and get a few more laptops?" Nick asked, sending a quick wink at the arctic wolf.

Charlotte returned the fox's wink, though Wolfard just looked confused. She grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room, saying, "Come on, let's go get those laptops!"

Nick couldn't help but grin as he watched Wolfard being dragged out of the room. The moment the wolves were gone, he turned to Judy. "You know, it's a shame Charlotte's going to be late the next few days. Unreliable city transportation, traffic jams. I'd hate to see her get in any trouble, if _only_ there were some way to ensure that she arrived on time," he said, concern creeping into his tone.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you're thinking, Nick," Judy grinned. "Can't hide anything from me."

"I expect nothing less. So… what's my sly bunny going to do about it, considering this is her team and all," he asked with a wide smirk on his face as he dropped down into the chair next to her. It was Wolfard's chair, and considering he was three times Judy's size, there was plenty of room for the fox to sit next to his bunny.

"I could force Wolfard to take her home with him… maybe recommend a nice dinner," she chuckled. "I've seen the way his tail wags around her. Although he may be resistant at first, I think he'll enjoy it."

"Good, that'll work well, I think," Nick nodded.

"Oh, speaking of taking mammals home… I've decided that I want to move in with you," she said, smirking up at him.

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped almost comically. _Did I really hear that right?_ he wondered. _She wants to move in with me?!_ He could stop his tail from wagging back and forth as he thought about it. Having her that close and always around, her scent filling his apartment, and her adorable form sleeping on his couch. It sounded like heaven to him. "Judy," he said, using her real name to reinforce the seriousness of the situation. To reinforce that fact that _he was_ serious. "Are you sure? Not that I'm not thrilled, I definitely would love to have you at my place, but I want to make sure."

"Well… last night I couldn't sleep. At all. My immediate thought was that your couch is more comfortable than my bed… but then it dawned on me that I like being near you," she admitted. "And I figured, you seem pretty serious and you obviously want me there, and I _do_ like a good, comfy couch… why not just move in?!"

Standing on the chair, Nick pulled Judy into a tight hug. "I am serious about this and I'm glad you want to give this a shot," he stated honestly, though he did not let her go from his embrace. "If you really want to move in with me, I can help you pack after work." He couldn't help himself, he pulled her closer against his chest, discreetly taking in her scent as he did. She smelled of wildflowers and earth after a rainstorm.

"I do need your help, though I don't have a lot of stuff. I figured we could go out looking for the key and then when we find it, celebrate by moving my stuff into your apartment," she grinned. She could see his tail wagging wildly and allowed herself to giggle and relax into his hug. It felt so right to be in his arms.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Fluff," he said, setting her back onto the chair before straightening out his uniform and clearing his throat. He hated letting her go in that happy moment, but he remembered that they were still at work and, should anyone see and report to Bogo, they would be in a lot of trouble.

"Wasn't that just the cutest thing, Charlotte?" Wolfard's teasing tone came from the doorway, causing both the fox and the bunny to look over and see him and the arctic wolf leaning on the doorframe, smirking at them. "Looks like things are going well between the dynamic duo."

Judy immediately blushed. "Oh… uh… you saw that?" she managed to stutter out.

"We did, well, some of it. Don't worry, though, we won't tell Bogo," Wolfard promised as he padded back into the office, setting two more laptops onto Charlotte's desk. He sat down and opened one of the laptops, Nick climbing back onto Wolfard's desk top and taking the other one. "That was a pretty big step, Judy, best of luck to you both."

"T-thanks, Wolfard," Judy said. She paused, watching him boot up the laptop he was holding, when she figured she should just go ahead and tell him. "Oh, actually, I should be saying the same to you. Because of Charlotte's current predicament, I want you to let her stay at your place until her car is fixed. That way she won't be late for work."

Wolfard's ears jerked to attention as he registered the words that had come from the rabbit's mouth. "Why me? Why can't she stay with you guys?" he asked, hoping Judy would reconsider. He had never had a roommate before, let alone a female in his apartment. Though, he couldn't stop his _blasted_ tail from perking up in excitement.

"Um… because I'm moving in with him?" Judy pointed at Nick. "And there's not enough space in his apartment for three mammals, especially one as large as Charlotte. No offense, by the way." Charlotte only waved off the comment, she was more excited about getting to stay with Wolfard, as Judy put her paws on her hips and glared at the timber wolf.

"Right, of course," he muttered, suddenly regretting congratulating the two of them. He scratched the back of his neck as he realized he had no choice on the matter, it only made sense for the arctic wolf to bunk with him. "Alright, fine… but just until her car is fixed. Now, let's see what happens when I search Yorick."

Judy risked a glance at Charlotte, who only rolled her eyes. The arctic wolf leaned on Wolfard's shoulder, as she didn't have a chair to sit on, being sure to touch him as much as possible. She watched him scroll through the links, trying to find something on Yorick, until an idea popped into her mind. "Try Zoogle images," she suggested.

Blinking a few times at the odd suggestion, Wolfard obliged. He ignored her leaning on him the best he could, though the touching was new and for some reason… he couldn't bring himself to ask her to move. _Whatever, not important right now,_ he told himself as he clicked on the first image. "Okay, does this mean anything to you?" he asked, turning the laptop to face Judy.

The picture was in black and white and it depicted a pig, wearing odd, old-fashioned clothes… holding a skull. Judy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open when she realized she _recognized_ that skull. "Y-yeah… it does actually. Blank wears that exact skull on the back of her trench coat," she said.

"Blank?" Nick and Charlotte's voice chorused at the same time.

"Oh, right, you weren't here for that. We named the hyena Blank, 'cause she leaves only a blank space," Wolfard explained. The fox and arctic wolf exchanged glances, but shrugged it off. "Anyways, I don't recognize what animal that skull belongs to."

"Does… does she want us to dig up a grave?" Charlotte asked quietly, hoping that she was wrong.

"No, I don't think so," Judy muttered. "I don't know what kind of skull that is either, but I seem to remember a similar symbol on one of the items in that badger's secret weapons closet. Maybe it's her symbol or something."

"Oh, so we're supposed to go looking for it? Like an X marks the spot type thing?" Nick asked, realizing what Judy was getting at.

"Maybe. Okay… so this is what we know. The key is in the Rainforest district, marked with a skull. And it's somewhere on the west side," Judy said.

"West side?"

"Yeah… 'as surely as the sun sets in the west.' That's what it said in the letter," Judy explained.

"So, then what's the plan?" Nick asked, clapping his paws together.

"We only have about an hour left on our shift, so we're going to split up again. Nick and I are going to drive around the west side of the Rainforest district looking for that symbol. I doubt we'll find anything in an hour, but hopefully we'll be able to cover enough ground that all of us looking tomorrow we can find it," Judy explained.

"Right… and what about Wolfard and I?" Charlotte asked.

"You two stay here. Try and figure out what's happening in that picture and what type of animal that skull belongs to," Judy said as she hopped out of the chair and headed towards the door. Nick sent Charlotte another wink as he followed the bunny out of the small office.

XXX

Judy had let Nick drive around the Rainforest district with the sirens blasting for good measure. She had been seeing the skull in her dreams and knew that she would spot it before Nick did. While he focused on the road, driving at a moderate speed, her eyes scanned the dense jungle.

They had been driving around the district for nearly twenty minutes, and with the ten minutes that they had taken to get here meant they only had a half-hour left on their shift. And she hadn't found anything that looked remotely like that skull.

But Nick didn't care in the slightest, he just couldn't stop smiling. _She's moving in with me! She's moving in with me!_ he couldn't stop repeating in his head as he just focused on the road. And each passing minute that brought him closer to bringing her back to his apartment for good. Sure, they may not find the key tonight, but today would be a win for him no matter what.

Judy felt her phone buzz and managed to tear her eyes away from the jungle to see who had sent her a text. "Wolfard texted us something," she said before looking back out at the jungle.

"And? What did he say?" the fox asked, glancing at her for just a moment. The roads of the Rainforest district were dangerous, as they were always wet, and required a driver's attention at all times. Especially with the tight turns and narrow streets… and the bridges.

Judy grumbled to herself, she didn't want to stop looking for even a second. But she let out a sigh and opened Wolfard's text. "Yorick is the skull, so we're definitely on the right track. The scene is from a play called Hamlet by Shakespeare, where Hamlet returns from England to discover the court jester, Yorick, has died," she read aloud.

"Ask what type of animal the skull belongs to," Nick said. The rabbit snorted but typed in the question and waited for a response by continuing to scan the surroundings.

She looked down reluctantly once again once she got an answer. "I have no clue, no matter what I search or what I read, no one seems to have any clue what type of skull that is. Or what type of mammal Shakespeare was," she read.

"I guess we'll never know. I suppose it doesn't matter as long as we know what the skull looks like, right?" the fox asked.

"I suppose so. I'll just tell him he can leave early, he'll need the time to move Charlotte in and get situated," she muttered as she typed up her message to him. She sent it and leaned back with a loud sigh. "We're running out of time. Maybe we should just head back too."

"Maybe. I know how much this means to you, but I don't think we're going to find anything," Nick nodded. He drove a little bit further until he found a point to turn around and head back. But he didn't get far.

The car came to a screeching halt, throwing Judy forward. Thankfully, she was wearing her seatbelt, but the sudden jolt still hurt a bit. "Nick! What the hell was that for?" she asked, turning to glare at him.

"Look," was his only response, as he lifted his arm to point at something. She raised an eyebrow, but followed his finger to where he was pointing. Her eyes immediately widened when she laid eyes on a tree marked in white paint with a skull.

"That's gotta be it," she muttered. The way the symbol was facing meant they would only have been able to see it while driving back. The paint was runny, but it was still clearly that unknown skull. How that hyena had gotten it to stay at all was a mystery, but not one Judy cared about answering at the moment.

"That's gotta freak someone out, right? Surely this has been reported as vandalism," Nick said as he hit the gas again, wanting to get a little closer to the tree.

"It'll probably be gone in the morning anyways," Judy shrugged. The fox beside her only snorted as he came to a stop as close as he possibly could to the marked tree without going off-road.

The duo left the car and, cursing themselves for forgetting umbrellas, ran towards the tree. The tree's massive roots created a type of obstacle course, the wet bark making it difficult for them to actually reach the trunk of the tree. But they managed to make it without losing their footing.

They walked around the base of the tree until they found a patch of disturbed earth. "There!" Judy shouted, excitement quickly filling her tone. Nick nodded and immediately began digging. They hadn't brought shovels, but he wouldn't complain about having to get his paws dirty.

After a few seconds of digging, his claws scratched against steel. Blinking in surprise, he pulled a steel box from the dirt. He let it sit in the rain for a moment, allowing the dirt to seemingly melt away. It was a dull blue color, made from stainless steel, and it was locked. "Motherfucker," Nick hissed as he turned the front of the box towards Judy. She let out a tired sigh when she saw that it had an eight-digit combination. "Of course we aren't done yet."

XXX

 **And another chapter down! I'm sorry about not posting last week, I didn't have the time to work on this story. But anyways, now you see why I had Judy pair Nick and Charlotte together last chapter. A good excuse to get the two of them talking, no? Anyways, Charlotte's finally having something go her way, but will it succeed? Or will Wolfard remain as dense as always?**

 **And we also managed to crack that letter! Or… the characters did, at least. But it only led them to another locked box, another puzzle, another clue. Will it ever end? But I wonder what the combination is? In any case, the mystery is starting to unravel, hopefully we'll get to the bottom of all this soon. Next chapter is pretty fun, I hope you'll enjoy it. There might… and I repeat…** ** _might,_** **be a bump in the rating. I haven't quite decided if I want to keep a certain scene or not. But please (and I know I don't ask for specific comments often), I'd like to know your thoughts on this becoming an M rated story. Good, bad, or just don't care, I'd like to hear it. Please stay tuned until next time!**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – The Push He Needed:

Author's Note:

 **So… a lot of you didn't care at all about whether or not I bumped the rating. So… for the few of you who did have an opinion, well… the rating has been bumped. In any case, USA Patriot made several excellent points, many of which I will address right now…**

 **Ah, yes, both you and Dragon-God are right (though he beat you to it). And yes, it is a bit weird that graphic, gory violence is a T rating, but then again… I haven't gone into** ** _too_** **much detail. Now that the rating's been bumped, I'm holding nothing back. And since you want all the sexy, juicy details, I'll give them to you. As for how Wolfard can be so dense, you'll find that out this chapter. And lastly, thank you for your concern, I wish you the same.**

 **Now that that's been covered, onto this chapter! I'll start by apologizing profusely for how long this chapter's taken to get out. It's fairly long, the scene at the end was a bit difficult to edit, and I had several papers and a speech to write this week… so there's all that. In any case, this one was a fun one to write, and I once again have to give my thanks to Dracologistmaster who helped write it. We have to cover Judy moving in with Nick and Charlotte crashing at Wolfard's place, so let's get started! Please, enjoy!**

XXX

"So, are you excited about moving in, Fluff?" Nick asked as he unlocked the door to his apartment. They had already packed Judy's things and terminated her lease, though the old armadillo looked a bit worried that a fox, cop or not, was following a rabbit. Thankfully, Judy didn't have a lot of things, just enough to pack into a few bags and a suitcase. It only took the two of them to carry it all.

Realizing that he had gotten no response as he opened the door, the fox looked at his rabbit partner and girlfriend only to find her staring at the lockbox they had found in the Rainforest district, locked tight. "Come on, Carrots, we can try to crack it after we get you squared away and put some food in our bellies," he chuckled as he walked in and set her things down on the couch.

She let out a sigh as she set the lockbox on the coffee table, finding it difficult to tear her eyes away from it. "Fine. What are you making for dinner?" she asked, walking over to the counter. She couldn't help but glance at the box occasionally, but managed to keep fairly good eye contact with Nick as he made his way into his kitchen.

"For me, lemon pepper salmon, as for you, what would you like?" he asked as he opened the fridge. "I've got plenty ingredients for a nice salad, or I can make some vegetarian chili."

"Ooh… vegetarian chili sounds interesting," she said, leaning on the counter. "I'd love some of that."

"You got it, Fluff. It'll take a bit, so why don't you find something on TV to keep you busy while I cook," he suggested as he got started. She rolled her eyes, but was thankful that he was willing to cook for her, so she did as he requested.

She moved her stuff off the couch and stored it next to the coffee table, where she had left her suitcase. She frowned at the mess she was making before getting comfortable on the couch. She flicked on the TV and found something to watch as she waited for Nick to finish making dinner. But she was less focused on what was on the television, rather her mind was concentrated on what the hell the combination could be for the lockbox.

She was really excited to move in with Nick, but some things took priority. She was so lost in thought that she hadn't realized that she was staring at the box instead of the TV until Nick set a bowl on the coffee table. "That box is still bugging you, isn't it?" Nick asked as he took a seat next to her.

"Yeah, it is," she snorted as she picked up the bowl. "I just… why does she have to make me jump through all these hoops?!" She dug into the chili with a low growl.

In a rare moment of seriousness, Nick turned his entire body to show that he was giving her his full attention. "Probably for the same reason a certain sly fox gave you so much hassle before you saved his life. You've gotten to her, but she needs this last little bit to fully trust you," he explained, putting a paw on her shoulder. "And don't worry, we'll get this figured out before you know it."

She let out a short chuckle as she heard his words before quickly finishing off the rest of her chili, just as he did his salmon. "Thanks, Nick… you always know the right thing to say," she sighed. "But I'm pretty full… so let's get me situated before we start working on the box."

"Sounds like a plan," he replied with a smile as he collected their dishes. He walked back over to the kitchen, putting them in the sink before helping her with her luggage again. "I have an empty drawer in my dresser if you want to store your clothes there. As for your other stuff, you can put your bathroom things in the bathroom, duh, and everything else you can store under the bed."

She only nodded before following him into his room, tugging her suitcase behind her. This wasn't an overnight stay, this was moving in with him. Permanent. He helped fold her clothes and put them in his empty drawer before letting her set up in the bathroom. Unbeknownst to her, he was thinking the exact same thing. _Permanent… this is really happening!_ he thought giddily.

She came out of the bathroom to see him stuffing everything else she had under his bed. He noticed her out of the corner of his eye and stood, clapping his paws together as he did. "Well look at that, you're all moved in," he grinned.

"I sure am," she chuckled.

They stood there, staring at each other, both internally shouting at themselves to say something. Eventually, Nick stepped forward and embraced Judy in a tight hug. "You have no idea how great is it that you're here," he all but whispered in her ear.

She tensed but quickly relaxed in his arms before returning the hug. She didn't say anything until he pulled away chuckling nervously and scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry about that…" he said.

"No, you're fine," Judy said, waving away his concern dismissively. "Let's get working on that lockbox." She turned on her heel and walked back into the living room. Nick stared at her as she went, wondering if he had made a mistake. But realizing that she had returned the embrace, he shook those thoughts off and followed her into the living room.

"Okay Fluff, how do we plan on opening this?" he asked as he sat down next to her. She pulled the lockbox closer to her, but didn't pick it up off the coffee table.

"It looks like it's shut pretty tight, so I doubt we can find someone strong enough to wrench it open, and it doesn't look like it'll be easily picked…" Judy listed off, glancing at Nick to see if he would agree with her.

"Well, these types of locks are always a bit difficult to pick because all you have is the number wheels, no other way to get to the pins. I don't have the necessary equipment to pick this lock," he explained.

"So that means our only choice is to figure out the combination," she sighed. "Well… she must've already given it to us!"

"Hopefully. I'd hate to have gotten this box tonight and wake up tomorrow to find a letter jammed into my door with another fucking puzzle," he muttered. "The last one was tough enough."

"Hey, I figured it out pretty quickly," she smirked at him. He only rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile along with her. Even if they couldn't open the box, tonight would still have been wonderful, according to him. But he knew that she would be that much happier if they managed to open the box, which would make tonight even sweeter to them both.

"Alright, what about we look at the letter again. Maybe there was something there that we missed, or passed over because we didn't have the box yet," he suggested. "Do you have it with you?"

"Of course," she responded, pulling the folded letter out of her pocket and setting it on the coffee table next to the lockbox. Nick picked up the letter and read it over again. And again. And again.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, he set the letter down and growled, "I don't see anything that could resemble a clue here."

Judy furrowed her brow and picked up the letter to read it over again. And again. And again, before she too set the letter down and glared at the lockbox. "I don't know, Nick… there's nothing in there that looks like it could be a clue," she sighed.

"So… should we just wait and see if we get another letter tomorrow?" he asked, leaning back on the couch.

"I guess so…" she gave a defeated sigh as she folded the letter again, and shoved it back into her pocket. Only for her paw to graze against another piece of paper that she had forgotten about. Blinking a few times, she drew that slip of paper she had taken off Lionheart's desk from her pocket and set it on the table. "Wait a minute," she muttered as she looked over that slip of paper again.

"Hmm?" Nick hummed, his eyes snapping open again as he looked down at her to see her grasping that slip of paper.

"All the numbers on this piece of paper are eight digits long," she explained. Nick stared at her for a moment before realizing what she was implying, causing him to lean forward again. "The letter mentioned this slip of paper and how I'd 'understand it in time,' and I think that time is now."

"Right, of course!" he exclaimed, grinning in excitement. He picked up the lockbox and asked, "I suppose just start at the first one."

"Try… 06271990," she read off the slip of paper. She waited in silence as Nick rotated the combination wheels to the proper numbers, before pressing a button near the wheel. To both of their surprises, the box popped right open. "Well… that was easy. A little anticlimactic, if you ask me," Judy muttered.

"A little too easy," the fox mumbled before drawing out another piece of paper and handing it to Judy. She took it from him and unfolded it before letting out a sigh. "What? What is it?" he asked.

"It's another letter," she grumbled. She took a deep breath and began reading.

 _Dear Mr. Conrad,_

 _Congratulations! You not only found the box, but opened it too. I wonder if I made the clues too easy…_

 _I digress. You managed to crack my riddle and you've done more than enough to deserve the key._

 _Probably._

 _Here's the thing, I know that I can trust you. You've more than proved that. But you didn't solve this alone._

 _Everyone that helped you is to be commended, of course, but I don't think this was quite an accurate test of your intelligence._

 _Really, though, that doesn't mean I'm not gonna give you the key. You've earned it! But be aware that your trials aren't over!_

 _YJHEIMTS_

 _Sincerely,_

"Blank," Judy sighed as she finished the letter. She let it down next to the now open lockbox and leaned back on the couch.

"Well… she gave us the key at least," Nick said, trying to give her a comforting smile.

"Yes, but she said my trails aren't over," she grumbled. "And she seemed pretty disappointed that I had to get help from you guys."

"Pff, you did most of the work!" he chuckled. "But I sure bet Wolfard's going to be happy that we can finally unlock that laptop."

Judy couldn't help but snort, the timber wolf had put a lot of time and effort in trying to get passed the password on the laptop. "Unless, of course, we're misunderstanding what she means and the key goes to something else," she chuckled.

"Nah, I think that if this was a wild goose chase, the letter would've at least given you a hint to what the key would be used for," he replied. "I'm surprised that it wasn't a trap of some sort. You know, like knockout gas sprays in your face and you wake up in a small, white, padded room."

"You don't sound like you're joking," she observed.

"I'm not…"

"Well… I don't think she's like that," Judy chuckled. "Or at least, I hope she isn't."

"Yeah, I hope she isn't either, Fluff," Nick sighed.

"In any case, uh… I'm not really tired, are you?" she asked.

"No, not really. I've got some movies if you want to pop one in and watch," he informed her, gesturing towards a half-full rack of DVDs. "I could make popcorn or something."

"That'd be nice, I'd love to watch a movie," she grinned. "What should we watch?"

"Well…" he trailed off as he hopped off the couch and padded over to his DVD rack. "I've got Blade, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, any of those sound good?"

"Star Wars is fine, I haven't seen any of those in a while," she chuckled. When she still lived in the burrows, Star Wars movies were playing on a near constant loop on every TV to entertain the hundreds of kids in the house.

"Sounds good to me. We can watch episode five, Empire Strikes best… AKA, the best one," Nick chuckled as he picked out the CD and walked over to the DVD player.

"Eh, I prefer episode one," Judy said as nonchalantly as possible.

His reaction was immediate. He dropped the disk, thankfully the floor was carpeted so it wasn't damaged, and whirled around to face her. "What?!" he all but shouted.

"I'm kidding Nick, I'm kidding!" she grinned, knowing exactly how particular fans of the series were about the movies. She would get similar reactions from her younger brothers when she said that.

The fox let out a loud sigh of relief as he put a paw over his heart. "Thank god, Carrots… if you thought _episode one_ is the best Star Wars movie, we wouldn't be able to date anymore," he chuckled, only half-joking.

"Don't you think that's a bit dramatic?" she teased. "And besides, episode two is the best." He let out a cough and clutched his chest even harder as he dramatically dropped to his knees. But her loud laughter told him that she was just kidding once again.

"I see how it is, Fluff," he muttered as he picked up the disk and put it into the DVD player, starting the movie as he did. He started the popcorn and hit the lights, leaving only the small light over the stove on for when he would go back and get the salty, buttery snack.

He plopped down next to her just as the open crawl began and she immediately curled up next to him, letting out a deep sigh as she pressed herself against his side, quickly getting comfortable. He could feel his heart beat a little faster as her slight weight settled against him, loving the feeling that came with it.

But he still needed to extract some form of revenge for that _vicious_ joke she pulled on him. He almost had a heart attack! He glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye, letting a smirk rise onto his face as he thought of his vengeance.

Slowly, he snaked his arm around her shoulders, still looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She didn't react to his movements, either that or she didn't care, so he pressed further down. Continuing at the same slow pace, his paw ran down the small of her back and towards her rump.

But he didn't make it that far, as halfway down her back, she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "And what do you think you're doing, Slick?" she asked, though she didn't make any attempt to move his paw.

"Alright, you caught me," he grinned, removing his paw from her back and putting them up in the air. "I was going to touch your tail."

"And why would you think that was a good idea?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Um… revenge?" he tried, scratching the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle. "Well… if that's _too_ cruel, then how about this?"

"How about wha-" she tried to ask, but was cut off as he pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened almost comically as he kissed her. She hardly noticed when the microwave dinged, signaling that the popcorn was ready, she was too busy trying to comprehend what was going on.

It was painfully short for Nick who pulled away before Judy even realized what had happened and stood, walking over to get the popcorn for the two of them. He couldn't help but chuckle at her stunned expression as he got as far away from her as he could, fearing her inevitable explosion. _Maybe that was too much too,_ he sighed internally as he filled a bowl with popcorn.

He approached her cautiously, as she had yet to move a single muscle, staring blankly at the space he had occupied, eyes still as wide as when he kissed her. He hesitated, wondering briefly if this was just a ruse, before sitting down next to her again. He popped a few of pieces of popcorn into his mouth, crunching on them as he watched Judy stare at him blankly.

Until he saw her nose twitch once, twice, before she blinked and life came back into her vivid, purple eyes. "You kissed me," she said simply. Her tone contained no malice, and she did not narrow her eyes into her scathing glare, she was just simply stating fact.

"I did," Nick admitted, setting the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. If she attacked him, at least then he wouldn't get popcorn everywhere…

"Why?" she asked.

"Huh?" was his dimwitted response.

"Why would you kiss me?" she clarified.

"Uh… we're dating? And I have it on pretty good authority that mammals that are dating kiss occasionally," he said.

"You just went for it though! Not even knowing if I'd punch you or something!" she exclaimed. "You could've asked first, it wasn't… I probably… I might not have said no. I at least wanted my first kiss to be romantic… not have it stolen from me by some dumb fox."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't take a chance with 'maybe.' This was revenge for your cruel jokes!" he said, crossing his arms. "But if you still want a romantic kiss, I'd be more than happy to oblige." He smirked at her, waggling his eyebrows.

She snorted as she reached for the popcorn bowl, setting it on Nick's lap, and then leaning on him again before taking a pawful of the salty, buttery goodness. "Just watch the movie, Slick," she said, stuffing the treat into her mouth.

Nick chuckled and did as she said, turning back to the movie, though he did wrap his arm around her shoulder again. He was pleased with the fact that he had gotten away with kissing her, but disappointed she didn't go for the second one. _Oh well, you can't have everything,_ he sighed to himself.

Little did he know, Judy was planning revenge of her own. _So that's the way it is, huh? I'll show him,_ she thought as a small smirk rose onto her face as she thought of the best way to get her own retribution.

The movie ended a few hours later, empty bowl on the coffee table, and her still hugged tight against him. She let out a loud yawn, drawing his attention down to her. "Alright, bed time for officer Fluff," he grinned as he stood, letting her head drop against the couch cushions.

 _Alright, time for revenge,_ she grinned to herself, still pretending to be tired. Truthfully, she had gotten comfortable lying next to him, so this would be a win-win for her. She watched him turn off the TV before asking, "Hey Nick, can I sleep on the bed tonight?"

He blinked a few times before saying, "Actually, that was something that I was meaning to bring up with you. I was going to suggest us swapping back and forth between the bed and the couch. So if you want the bed tonight, I'll have it tomorrow. If you don't mind, of course."

Judy couldn't help but smirk. "Actually, I was thinking that the bed was big enough for the both of us, so we might as well share," she grinned.

He let out a surprised cough, ears flattening against his head as he clutched his chest again. But he quickly recovered. "Oh, ha, ha, very funny, Carrots. But that ain't gonna work on me," he chuckled.

"Nope, I'm serious," Judy snickered. "I have it on good authority that dating mammals occasionally sleep in the same bed."

"Well… I… suppose… I… well… just…" he sputtered out, still a bit surprised that she was serious. "Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. And what happened to just going for it? Is kissing me really one thing, but god forbid we share a bed?" she asked, sitting up, and putting her paws on her hips.

"Well…" he trailed off.

"It's not like we're going to be having sex," she chuckled. _Totally worth it,_ she snickered internally. His reaction and his expression were priceless. He was so predictable.

"You say that now," he grinned, finally deciding to just go for it, like she suggested. "But I suppose the bed _is_ big enough for two…"

"Exactly," she grinned. "Come on, let's get changed, I'm still exhausted." She gestured to her uniform that she was still wearing, though she had removed her belt and chest plate, and let out another yawn to underline her point.

He only nodded, he too still in uniform, though he had removed his belt and tie. He walked back into his bedroom, her following behind him, and dug through his drawers for something clean to sleep in. She did the same as he headed off towards the bathroom to change.

She stripped completely and tossed her uniform into a hamper that contained what she hoped was dirty clothes. She threw own a simple pair of gym shorts and a white ZPD t-shirt and was back on the bed before Nick got out of the bathroom.

Nick changed into a light pair of sleep pants and a sleeveless undershirt before he walked out of the bathroom carefully, just in case Judy was still changing. But he spotted her getting comfortable on the bed, so he figured he was safe. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" he asked as he climbed into bed next to her.

"Yes, I'm sure," she sighed.

"I'm just being careful, trying to take your feelings into consideration and everything. I just don't want to make it seem like I'm pushing for anything, or that we're moving too fast. It's just that-" he said, but was interrupted before he could finish rambling.

"Nick?"

"Yes, Carrots?"

"Stop talking."

"… Okay…"

XXX

The drive to Charlotte's place had taken longer than Wolfard had thought. She lived all the way in the tundra district, clear on the other side of Zootopia than the precinct. And, unlike Wolfard, Nick, and Judy, she lived in an actual house. It was blue, though it was difficult to tell under all the snow. "Do I need to make any other stops while we're out?" he asked as he came to a stop.

"If we could stop by a store or something, that would be nice," Charlotte said, practically shaking in excitement. "I wanna make you a nice dinner in thanks for letting me stay at your place."

"Oh… uh, thank you," Wolfard stated nervously. He hadn't had a home-cooked meal in quite some time. _Maybe this won't be so bad after all,_ he told himself. In truth, he was absolutely terrified of having Charlotte at his apartment. For one thing, it was a mess, for another, he knew that it was just an excuse for her to tease him mercilessly. As much as he'd like to ask her out, he knew that she would turn him down, and then he'd never hear the end of it as long as he lived. "Need help with anything, or would you rather I stay here?" he asked.

"Oh, I just need to grab a few uniforms… maybe something to sleep in. Unless you'd rather I just sleep in the nude," she grinned widely. She didn't give him time to answer, opening the car door and walking towards her home to gather her stuff.

Ears pinned to the back of his head, Wolfard tried to banish the images his mind conjured of her statement with a hard shake of his head. Though it did nothing to help the bright red color that had risen to his ears and face. "Damn it, why does she find it so funny to mess with me like that?" he questioned himself aloud, shaking his head again as yet another indecent image appeared in his mind. "I need a drink."

She was back not even ten minutes later, tugging a small suitcase with her. Wolfard popped the trunk for her as she reached the back of the vehicle, she was still sporting that wide grin. She climbed back into the passenger's seat after shutting the trunk and noticed the slight blush on his face and ears and couldn't help but chuckle, "What would you like for dinner?"

"Know any good fish dishes?" he asked, focusing on driving, and not looking at his partner. She had gotten him good with her earlier joke, and he could still feel the heat on his face and ears, and he knew she could see it as well.

"I know how to grill salmon," she replied. "You know, Wolfard… if you wanna see me naked, all ya have to do is ask."

His mind blanked at her statement and his blush burned even brighter than before. Every time he tried to speak, he couldn't think of anything to say. Choosing instead to stay quiet and calm his heartbeat, which felt like a jackhammer in his chest. He pulled into a supermarket close to his apartment and practically threw himself out of the car and rushed into the building, heading straight for the liquor isle. _Or maybe several drinks,_ he grumbled internally.

Grabbing the biggest, strongest bottle of whiskey he could find, Wolfard headed towards the checkout and returned to his car to wait for Charlotte, continuing to attempt to calm himself down. Thankfully, he didn't have an erection, that might've ended even worse for him. He sucked in deep breaths, letting them out slowly, as he stared at the steering wheel.

It took Charlotte a few minutes to find all the items she would need, managing to fit them all into a single bag. She climbed into the passenger's seat and placed her bag on the back seat, next to his whiskey. "Ooh, whiskey, my favorite!" she grinned. "Hope it's strong."

"Trust me, it is," he replied, starting the car, and heading for home. Pulling into the apartment complex's parking lot, he grabbed the whiskey and popped the trunk to grab Charlotte's bag. She protested, but he insisted. After reaching his apartment, Wolfard shut the door, and set her suitcase on his couch.

"Sorry about the mess," he muttered as he began picking up the random bits of trash and dirty clothes. "I've only got one bed, so I'll change the sheets and you can use it while you're here. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Aw… are you sure you don't wanna share the bed? It looks big enough for two, I don't mind," she grinned as she walked over to the small kitchen. She began rifling through cabinets, searching for a pan to fry the salmon with.

"Pans are under the over, and yes, I'm sure," he stated as he changed the trash bag, which was now full. As much as he'd love to jump at the opportunity to share the bed, he knew that she would only make him suffer for it. Maybe she'd wait until he was fast asleep and then kick him off the bed! Or maybe she'd do her best to prevent him from sleeping at all! But thoughts of her earlier jokes played in his head, and there was that tiny voice, that same voice that always popped up in his mind when she joked with him, _what if she's not joking?_

 _Goddamn it,_ she growled internally as she found a pan. She set it on the stove and turned it on before turning to the salmon she bought to prepare it. "Wolfard, I can't let you sleep on the couch. Either we share that bed or you're taking it," she said, not glancing up from her work.

 _That didn't sound like a joke,_ that voice echoed through his mind, and he couldn't help but agree. But, at the same time, it was better safe than sorry. "It wouldn't be right as your host to share the bed, nor would it be right to make you sleep on the couch. I'll be fine," he said sincerely. "I do appreciate the thought, though," he added.

"Why do you have to be so fucking difficult?" Charlotte asked, slapping the salmon in the pan and turning to glare at him.

"I'm not being difficult, I'm being polite," Wolfard replied. _She's just angry that she won't be teasing me that easily,_ he chuckled internally.

"Yeah, well, I'm trying to be practical. And I'm telling you it's okay! Why don't you understand that?" she grumbled, the sound of salmon sizzling becoming audible. "It's not like I'm gonna bite… unless you _want_ me to."

"What's not practical about me sleeping on the couch?" he asked, now a bit confused. He decided to ignore the innuendo. "I'll still get sleep, so it won't affect my work at all."

"You're an idiot," she mumbled, turning back to the salmon. _We'll see how many drinks it takes to change his mind,_ she chuckled internally.

Shrugging his shoulders, Wolfard went to change the sheets on the bed. All the while, his mind kept replaying everything that had happened since leaving for her house. _Would she really go this far for a joke? Would she really get that upset that she didn't get to me?_ he wondered as he bundled the sheets into a ball and tossed them into the hamper. _All those things that she said… I have to know for sure,_ he shook his head once more before putting on the new sheets.

That voice that said that she wasn't joking was unusually strong today, maybe there was an opportunity here. _Maybe if I pretend that I'm drunk…_ he thought to himself. _No, that wouldn't work. No matter what, she'd just tease me for being a lightweight. Wait! What if I call her bluff? Yes… I'll call her bluff, that's the best way to find out._

Grinning to himself, he walked back into the living room and turned on the TV. He plopped down onto his couch and flicked through the channels until he found his favorite movie. _I just have to wait for the right moment,_ he sighed internally, but couldn't help the fact that his paws had started to tremble a bit. _Maybe after some liquid courage._

Charlotte finished dinner nearly a half hour later. She put the meal on two plates and walked over to Wolfard on the couch. She set the plates on his coffee table before she went back to the kitchen to pour them the whiskey. As she walked back, she took the bottle with her. "So, what's on?" she asked, picking up her plate and leaning back on the couch. She grimaced, it didn't feel like a very comfortable couch to sleep on.

"Thank you. It's a movie called _Smokey and the Bandit_. Ever seen it before?" he asked before picking up his plate and taking a bite. "Wow, this is really good!" he exclaimed before laying into his meal, quickly devouring it.

"No, I haven't," she said, eating a bit slower than he did. He practically inhaled his meal, but he had yet to touch his drink. _Come on Wolfard! You know you wanna,_ she muttered internally. "Oh, and thanks. I think it's pretty good too."

"It's a really good movie and you haven't missed much," he replied, picking up his glass of whiskey. He took a large sip, downing nearly all of it. _I'm going to need more if I'm really gonna do this,_ he told himself before glancing at Charlotte. A spike of nervousness jolted through his spine as he thought about him calling her bluff, nearly causing him to drop his glass, and realized that he was going to need a lot more.

She couldn't help but smirk as he drained his glass. "More?" she asked, brandishing the bottle. _All too easy,_ she giggled internally.

"Yes, please," he answered, holding out his glass. _Am I really going to do this?_ he pondered internally. That thought continued to run rampant in his mind until he downed his second glass, quickly silencing it.

She eagerly poured him another glass before picking up her own. She wasn't sure if she wanted to drink too much, but her limit was much higher than his, if Nick was right. But then again, it might make it less awkward in the morning if they both woke up with hangovers. "So… what the hell is a 'Smokey?'" she asked, turning back to the TV after finishing her plate and setting it aside on the coffee table.

"A 'Smokey' is slang for a highway patrol officer or group of officers, or the car they drive," he answered, sipping from his glass. He decided he needed to slow down, knowing that if he got drunk, this would end a lot worse.

Charlotte spotted him babysitting his glass and she frowned. _That won't do at all,_ she muttered internally. "Oh…" she trailed off, before draining her glass and refilling it. She sent him a challenging stare, hoping to incite him into competing with her. If Nick was right, then he was already close.

Seeing her challenging glare, Wolfard only chuckled. "Really? You're gonna win," he stated before finishing his drink. She refilled his glass immediately, before he even had time to prompt her to do so.

"So? Come on Wolfard, have a little fun!" she grinned, pouring herself another drink.

"Oh alright, but we're both gonna regret it in the morning," he said with a laugh as he threw back the shot. _That's four… one more and I'm done,_ he reminded himself as she poured them another round.

Charlotte only grinned. _That's four, one more and he's hit his limit,_ she giggled internally. She was so close! She downed her shot in a single shot, as did he, before refilling their glasses again.

Wolfard shook his head at Charlotte's excited expression. His inhibitions and his fears had practically melted away. He saw that Charlotte had already refilled his glass but he only shook his head. "I can't go anymore, that's it for me," he said, tapping the table with an open palm.

She let out a short growl before shaking her head. "Aw… who's gonna help me finish this bottle of whiskey, then?" she asked, pouting. "You shouldn't stop just 'cause ya hit your limit! Come on, live a little!" _He's not taking this victory from me!_ she growled internally.

"I would take you up on that offer, but we have work tomorrow. Maybe another time, Char," he chuckled at her disappointed expression, only for his face to take on a worried expression as he realized what he had said. "Oh, sorry about that… I'll use your full name from now on."

"Char, huh…" she trailed off, thinking carefully. He wasn't quite drunk yet, but he had slipped up. A smirk tugging at her lips, she said, "No, Char is fine, I like it! What about you? I… hey, I don't even know your first name!"

"I'm glad you like it," he said with a shy smile. He hadn't expected her to react like that. "It's Gray… my first name's Gray." He couldn't help the red tinge that began to rise on his cheeks. He knew she would laugh… everyone did.

"Gray Wolfard?" she asked, almost incredulously. But she managed not to laugh, not even a small chuckle escaped her lips. "That's a nice name. I think I'll just call ya Wolfy, though!"

"Wolfy? I think I could get used to that," he chuckled, though he was a bit surprised that she, of all mammals, didn't laugh at his name. "You know what? To hell with it. What's one more shot?" he asked, grabbing his glass again. _I'm doing this. All those times I thought she was joking? Maybe she was telling the truth,_ she thought to himself, casing a short glance at the she-wolf.

That grin reappeared on the arctic wolf's face as she grabbed her glass and clinked it against his. "To nicknames!" she exclaimed before downing the liquid. _He's gonna do it!_ she giggled internally, excitement taking over.

Noticing that she was distracted for those few precious seconds, Wolfard threw his head back and tossed the liquid from his glass onto one of his pillows before setting his glass back onto the table. _Okay, she thinks I'm drunk… time to call her bluff… if she was even bluffing,_ he muttered to himself as carefully flipped that pillow over so the stain couldn't be seen.

Shaking his head, he turned back to Charlotte, sucking in a deep breath. "So, Char… were you being serious before?" he asked, purposely being vague.

"Serious about what?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a bit tipsy, but she still had a ways to go until she was actually drunk. But she still had no idea what he was talking about.

"You said, and I quote, 'if you wanna see me naked, all ya have to do is ask,'" he replied, smirking at her. It was the moment of truth. If she was bluffing, the worst that could happen is that she would get flustered and tell him 'hell no!' But, if she wasn't bluffing…

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, not having expected him to go on the offensive, or be so forward. "So? Are ya asking?" she shook the surprise off and let a wide grin onto her face.

Wolfard met her eyes with a surprised expression. _She wasn't joking,_ he realized. "Would it be wrong of me to say yes?" he asked, the tip of his tail tapping lightly on the cushion. _Traitor,_ he growled to himself, shooting the appendage a quick glare.

"Only if you don't mean it," she grinned.

"Charlotte, may I see you in all your natural beauty?" he asked sincerely, hoping this wouldn't screw things up between them. He enjoyed working with Charlotte, jokes and all, even if he wanted it to be something more.

"All ya had to do was ask," she grinned, immediately reaching for her shirt. Wolfard's eyes followed her paws as they worked slowly, almost teasingly, at the buttons of her uniform. Neither had changed when they arrived at the apartment.

"Well," he said as his breathing began to quicken. "I-I'll just have to remember that." His eyes still glued to her paws, he watched as she unbuttoned her shirt and slipped it off of her body, revealing that she didn't wear a white undershirt like most other officers. She tossed her shirt aside and began working on her pants, pretending to fiddle with them as she slowly shimmied out of them, grinning all the while.

Wolfard's tail wagged faster and faster as he watched her teasing display and before he knew it, she was clad only in her undergarments. "You look amazing," he said quietly, figuring that he should complement her. "Not that you didn't before, but wow…"

She smirked as she watched his eyes roam her lithe figure. "Aw, thanks," she giggled. "Would you… uh… would you like to remove the last few pieces?" she asked, a soft blush managing to rise on her face. _This is happening!_

"A-are you sure you don't mind?" Wolfard asked nervously, having not expected her to say that, as he stood. "I mean… letting me look is one thing, but that's a whole other picture."

"Take off my underwear, Wolfy," she commanded, grin still wide on her face.

"Yes ma'am," he replied, playing along, though his paws started to shake again as he approached his partner. _Maybe I should've actually taken that last shot,_ he muttered to himself. Taking a deep breath, he walked around her and carefully undid her bra before running his paws up her back and stopping at her shoulders. He kissed her gently on the neck before sliding his paws, and the bra straps, off her shoulders and down her arms, letting the garment fall to the floor.

Walking back around her, he knelt down and grasped the waistband of her panties, looking her in the eyes once more for confirmation. Seeing the command burning in her amber eyes, he placed a gently kiss on her stomach, eliciting a gasp from her, before he slid the cloth barrier down her slender legs. He stood and took in her scent, licking his lips at the sight of Charlotte's fully nude form.

"See, nude," she grinned, licking her own lips as she saw the bulge in his pants. "Why… why did you ever think I was joking with you?"

"All the jokes! All the teasing!" he replied, crossing his arms. "Since the moment we were assigned as partners, you were joking and teasing with me. Surely… surely you were joking back then, right?"

"Well… mostly," she admitted. "Surely you could tell when I went into heat, though! These past few days I've been trying all sorts of different things to get it into your head, and get into your pants. Nick told me that you thought I was 'acting strange!' I was just… astounded that you never leapt at any of my offers!"

"Of course I could tell when you went into heat, but… I still just thought you were joking with me. And sure, I knew that if I just… went for it, you wouldn't be able to resist. But I was afraid of how angry you'd be when you came out of heat," he admitted, looking away from his partner. "I didn't want to try only to find out that it truly was all just a joke and ruin everything we had going, or worse. I enjoy working with you too much to risk that."

She let out a small sound of understanding. "Yeah… I'm sorry about all the jokes. Maybe… maybe it was a bit too much. But even when I was trying to be as serious as possible, nothing seemed to work!" she growled. "Look, I don't care that it took so long, just as long as we're doing this now. Take off your clothes."

"Your wish is my command," he replied as he slipped off his ZPD t-shirt and moved to his pants, taking off his belt first before slipping his pants off. He glanced up to see her bouncing up and down on her heels in excitement, mumbling to herself. Her tail began to wag the moment his pants dropped and he was left in nothing but his boxers. "Would you like to, or shall I continue?" he asked with a teasing smile. He was still slightly nervous, but seeing her so excited relaxed him immensely, allowing him to put on a good show.

"No, I'll do it," she grinned, kneeling on the floor. She took a bit of time running her paws across his abdominal muscles before hooking her claws on the waistband of his boxers. Slowly, she pulled them down around his ankles, moving to the side to prevent his partially erect member from slapping her across the muzzle. Her grin only widened.

"Should we go to the bedroom, or just continue here?" he asked, slightly unsettled by the grin on her face. It was the same hungry grin a predator gave just before pouncing on its prey.

"Bedroom. Now," she growled, standing, and grabbing his arm, before dragging him towards the bedroom. She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him onto the bed, him landing on his back. "Look at that, we're going to end up sharing the bed."

"So we are… I hope I don't disappoint you," he said with an awkward laugh as she climbed onto the bed as well. "I've never done this before." In truth, he thought they were moving just a little too quickly, but at the same time, he knew she didn't have a choice. She _needed_ relief.

"Yeah, well neither have I," she admitted, lying next to him. "I've spent so long trying to get you that I haven't bothered with anyone else."

He blinked a few times at her honesty. _Oh god, I'm an idiot,_ he muttered internally. "Well, I'm here now and I'm paying attention more than ever," he said, pulling her closer to him and pressing his lips against hers. He ran a paw down her arm and grabbed her ass, shooting her a teasing smile as he did.

"Oh Wolfy… you can touch so much more than just that," she grinned, pressing up against him. His lips felt amazing against her own, and although she could feel the nervousness from his touch, it did feel great. She couldn't wait for the main even to start.

At her encouragement, Wolfard's left paw roamed slowly up her side, stopping just over her breast. Kissing her once more on the lips before he pecked his way along her jawline, making his way towards her neck at a slow pace, massaging the lump of flesh all the while. He managed to elicit a sharp gasp from her, causing him to halt, and look her at her, worry flashing in his eyes.

The moment he stopped, Charlotte sent a wicked glare his way. "You only stop if I tell you explicitly to do so!" she growled.

"As you wish," he replied, kissing her once more, his paw resuming its gentle kneading as the other brushed up and down her stomach. Eventually gaining the courage, his paw slipped lower to rub gently at her opening, causing a low moan to tear from her throat. "I must be doing something right," he chuckled.

"You… ah… are…" she managed to moan out as he left a trail of kisses down her neck and towards her chest. He placed a single kiss on her right breast before drawing his tongue across the sensitive flesh.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he grinned, before giving her left breast the same treatment. He pressed a finger barely into her warm, wet folds, continuing to kiss and lick her chest, as he enjoyed the sounds of pleasure escaping her muzzle. Slowly, he worked his finger deeper into her womanhood before pulling it back, almost out of her, before pressing it slowly back in.

He took in her intoxicating scent as his finger increased its pace. _Her scent is making me more drunk than the whiskey,_ he chuckled internally as he captured her lips once more. Her mouth opened at his prompting, letting his tongue in to deepen their kiss, his finger pumping in and out of her the entire time.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he broke their lip lock to smirk at her. "What… ah… are you… uhn… doing?" she moaned out, but he didn't respond. Instead, he went back down to her chest and started to lick her once again. But he didn't stay for long, trailing his tongue down her chest and across her stomach, down all the way to his thrusting finger.

Removing his finger, eliciting a soft whine from the arctic wolf, he cleaned the digit with his tongue. Continuing to smirk, he drew his tongue across her lower lips before digging into her folds. She threw her head back with a loud gasp of pleasure from his action.

 _He seems to know what he's doing,_ she thought to herself as she tried to spread her legs wider, to give him better access to her core as he continued to bury his muzzle even deeper into her. Her claws grasped at the sheets, poking holes into them, as she grinded her hips against his face.

"Okay, okay!" she moaned out. "Stop… stop!" He pulled his tongue out of her, concern dancing in his eyes. She panted heavily as he stared at her, his unspoken question of _'did I hurt you?'_ hanging in the air. "No… I'm fine. It's just your turn," she grinned, gesturing towards his member, which was standing at attention.

She tried to push him off her, to return the favor, but he kept her pinned against the bed. She raised an eyebrow, confused as to why he wouldn't let her up, but he kept smirking down at her. He leaned over to her, lining up his manhood with her entrance, her eyes widened. "You're going in dry?" she asked, just a bit concerned.

"You're already plenty wet enough," he all but whispered into her ear, before nipping at the sensitive flesh, causing a shiver to go down her spine. She pulled his muzzle down so that it was on level with hers, and reconnected their lips, tasting herself on his lips and tongue as she did. While they continued their lip lock, he slowly pressed his hips against hers, his length disappearing into her core.

He grunted into her mouth as he slipped deeper and deeper into her center. She was tight, and he was already losing himself to the pleasure. Bottoming out seconds later, his hips hit flush with hers, causing a moan to tear from both of their throats. He broke their lip lock, a strand of saliva keeping them connected for just a few precious seconds longer.

"Here we go," he grunted as he pulled back, almost leaving her entirely, before thrusting back in much harder than before. One of his paws groped at her breast as he set an erratic, sloppy pace, as he pistoned in and out of the arctic wolf.

Charlotte could hardly breath as she threw her head back again. She couldn't even bring her hips up to meet his, so she was reduced to letting out a cacophony of moans as she grasped the sheets again, her claws mincing the fabric.

He continued thrusting into her for several minutes, until his tongue lolled out of his mouth and he began to slow down, running out of stamina. He lifted her hips a bit, allowing him to reach just a little bit further into her, he continued to slow down, his pace eventually evening out. He had reached his limit, despite him doing his best to ignore the growing pressure in his crotch.

But Charlotte was quickly approaching her limit too. "Wolfy…" she panted out as her inner walls began to clench around his length.

That was the last straw for him, as he buried himself into her, knotting her as he did. "Char," he moaned out as he exploded into her. Feeling his hot seed fill her, she too hit her climax with a loud scream. Or it would have been a loud scream, if he didn't reconnect their lips one last time, containing her voice as he did.

They remained in their embrace for some time until he broke contact and fell onto his side, breathing heavily, pulling her along with him. As they were connected at the groin by his knot. "That was incredible, mind blowing, even," he panted, nuzzling her neck, and giving her a playful nip as he did.

She could only nod, not trusting her voice at the moment as he returned his gesture, doing her best to crane her neck to press her face against his. They laid in that fashion for several minutes, just panting as they let the euphoria wear off. Finally, after nearly a half hour of just heavy breathing, Wolfard was able to remove his manhood from her, causing another whine to tear from her throat, immediately missing the full feeling. But a new thought began to ravage her mind as she regained the ability to think. "You forgot a condom… didn't you?" she all but whispered.

"Now that you mention it… I did," he answered nervously, ears pinned to the back of his head as he looked down at the bed. "In all honesty, I never expect it to go this far and when it did… well, the condom kind of skipped my mind. Are you mad at me?" he asked softly, glancing up into her eyes with a hopeful look.

"Of course not," she chuckled turning around to face him. "Tonight was well-worth the risk of having a child. As long as you promise to never leave me." Her eyes hardened into a challenging glare.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he said softly, the sincerity and warmth in his tone matched only by the gentle paw he set on her cheek as he pulled her close with the other.

"Good. Because tomorrow, if we stop by a drug store, I can buy some emergency contraceptives, and maybe some birth control pills. I'm in heat so we're gonna be doing this again, by the way," she grinned as he pressed his muzzle against her neck.

"So… I guess that means we're an item now? Unless you're just using me for sex while you're in heat," he chuckled. She gave him a hard look, aghast that he would even suggest such a thing. "I'm just kidding," his grin widened when he saw her offended gesture.

"I would never use you just for sex!" she huffed. "But yes… we're a thing now. It's all I ever wanted."

Wolfard could stop his tail from wagging, it was all he ever wanted too. "That's great, Char. Tomorrow we can drop by a store and get that stuff you want before work. But just so you know, I wouldn't mind having a kid," he sighed as his eyes closed, fatigue overwhelming him. "Goodnight, Char."

She snorted at the idea, she was sure she wasn't ready to be a mother. But she did know that she had been wanting this for a long time. "Goodnight, Wolfy," she muttered as she shut her eyes, letting him pull her close to him as she fell asleep.

XXX

 **Wow, that took a lot longer to edit than I thought. Okay, just a few things about the lemon before I talk about anything else. One: I do not claim to be an expert in this subject matter. Like I think I said last chapter, I had thought of a few that I could shove into this story. I tried to make it as realistic as possible, and hopefully I did a decent job. Two: The rating didn't increase just so I could show the sex. I want to make it clear that things are going to get very violent and bloody down the line, and the rating would probably have to be bumped even without the lemon. That's not to say there won't be more lemons down the line, they just obviously aren't the focus of this story.**

 **Anyways, Nick and Judy managed to open the box and they received another cryptic message from Blank. I wonder if that code will work? Or is it yet another puzzle for Judy to solve? And it looks like they slept in the same bed as well, though nothing funny happened between them. And, of course, Charlotte finally managed to get it through Wolfard's thick, thick skull. A lot of you were screaming at him to figure it out, and he finally has. In any case, next chapter they'll be back at the precinct, trying out the code Blank gave them. Will it work? Stay tuned until next time to find out!**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Getting Colder:

Author's Note:

 **I know this chapter took quite a while to come out. Lots of reasons for that, so take your pick. Finals, papers, life, work, and even trouble with the last chapter I posted. It's not necessarily the poor number of views the chapter received (far below average), but I expected that, due to the rating changing, but I've been rather unmotivated to type. But I'm sitting down now, forcing myself to get the chapter out Memorial Day (despite it being a Monday, and an odd day to release a chapter). I still plan to update next Saturday (or Sunday, failing that), and I hope to continue getting chapters out on a weekly basis. But… there's a chance in a week or two that I may have to move it so the story is updated every other week along with my other story, alternating between the two.**

 **In any case, I'd like to address USA Patriot once more! Was the lemon really that good? If it was, then I hope you look forward to the other two (yes, I already planned out how many there will be), if not… I'm not sure how to respond to that. But, on your Star Wars comment, while I do agree that episode two was the worst (with only the battle of Geonosis being passable), episode one wasn't too far behind. And yes, the cartoons are a massive improvement over the prequels. And I'd say Rogue One was more of episode 3.8 or 3.9 considering the end of that movie is practically the beginning of episode 4. I'm glad you thought the last chapter was of good quality, that's why the last chapter took so long to come out (poor lemons can ruin entire stories), unfortunately this chapter took so long due to other reasons…**

 **Anyways, enough of my rambling. I will say (last thing, I promise), that originally this story wasn't supposed to exceed fifteen chapters. But here we are at chapter fifteen with a good chunk of the story left to go. I'd estimate** ** _maybe_** **ten more chapters. But hopefully we shouldn't go passed thirty. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

The alarm blaring at seven thirty caused Judy's eyes to snap open. She let out a yawn and tried to get up, before realizing she couldn't move. She turned her head slightly to see Nick's muzzle dangerously close. She smiled softly when she discovered he was holding her tight against his chest in his arms. Despite the alarms blaring, he wasn't waking. Seeing this, she nudged him rather hard in the ribs, hoping to wake him up.

And wake him up she did. His eyes opened slowly and he let out a yawn, flashing his teeth for her to see. He let her go to stretch, allowing her to roll out of bed and do the same. Grumbling slightly, he grabbed his phone off the nightstand next to him and shut the still blaring alarm off. "Morning Carrots, sleep well?" he asked, turning to face her.

"Amazing, your tail is so fluffy!" she giggled slightly. "I slept so much better than I ever did at my apartment."

"That's great to hear," he smirked, rolling out of bed. "I'll make us some breakfast while you shower."

"What are you gonna make?" Judy asked as she grabbed a fresh uniform and headed towards the bathroom.

"I think I have the ingredients to make french toast just like my mom used to make," Nick replied just as the bathroom door shut. He chuckled and shook his head before making his way over to his small kitchen to start making breakfast.

Judy let out a soft sigh as the bathroom door shut. She felt so comfortable here, Nick really was hospitable. She slipped off her nightwear and hopped into the shower, making sure the water was nice and hot beforehand. She showered quickly, being sure to wash Nick's scent off her as she did. While she didn't mind everyone knowing that she was with Nick now, she definitely didn't want to be giving them the wrong idea.

Once she was finished, she stepped out of the shower and dried off, hanging the damp towel on a hanger over the door before dressing in her uniform. Stretching loudly, she opened the door and walked into the kitchen to see Nick setting two plates on the counter, both filled with french toast. Judy sat down at the counter, licking her lips, as Nick put a glass of orange juice in front of her, as well as butter and a bottle of syrup.

"Thanks for breakfast, Nick," she said, slathering her french toast with syrup before digging in.

"You're welcome, Fluff," Nick chuckled before spreading butter over his breakfast and pouring on just a little bit of syrup. "I'll shower after breakfast. It's rude to let your girlfriend eat alone, you know."

"You got that right," Judy smirked in between bites of breakfast. "But we don't have a lot of time, so chop chop! I don't wanna be smelling you in the office all day."

"Oh, ouch Carrots, that one hurt," he replied with a silly grin, paw over his heart.

"Well, take solace in the fact that you don't smell all too bad," she chuckled. "But that doesn't mean I like the smell of a dirty fox. So don't go skipping out on showers, you hear?"

"I hear you loud and clear, Carrots," he said, hopping off his chair and bringing his dirty dishes to the sink to give them a quick rinse. As he headed back towards the showers, he leaned over to whisper in her ear, "But maybe I like smelling like you." His tone was teasing, and he knew that her nose could only pick up on his natural overpowering scent.

A blush spread across her face as she heard those words. "H-huh?" she asked, her ears dropping behind her head as she turned to face him.

"You heard me," he grinned. "You can't smell it, but you left your scent all over me last night. But I can smell it plain as day."

"Oh," she mumbled as he padded away, red still firmly staining her cheeks. She wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that, so she turned back to her breakfast as the door closed. When she was finished, she took her plate to the sink and rinsed it quickly just as Nick had done. Then she sat down on the couch and waited for him to get out of the shower.

It took him a few minutes, but Nick eventually made it out of the bathroom in a fresh uniform and made his way into the living room. "Ready to go?" he asked, gesturing towards the door. They still had plenty of time to walk to the precinct, so he was in no rush.

Judy only nodded, shutting off the TV as she followed Nick towards the door. They exited the apartment building and began walking towards the precinct. "You know, they didn't show any news about the hyena mercenaries on the news," Judy said, trying to make small talk as they ducked under a zebra.

"That makes sense… I mean, with a band of dangerous mercenaries roaming the city, not to mention one Blank doing god knows what, releasing anything to the public is probably a bad idea," Nick chuckled. Their short stature, and the fact that everyone around them were much too engrossed in their day-to-day lives, assured them that their conversation would not be overheard.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense… but you'd think with all these deaths, everyone deserves to know why," Judy shrugged as they crossed the street that would lead them to the precinct.

"I'm sure Bogo will give a press conference once this matter has been dealt with, or at least when public safety has been assured," he sighed as they walked up to the building and entered it.

Judy was unable to get in another word edgewise as Clawhauser greeted them as enthusiastically as always. "O m goodness!" he said, putting his paws under his chin giddily. "You're here at the same time again!"

Judy rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, we moved in together. Got a problem with that?" She halted at his desk, leaning against it slightly. Forcing him to lean over the counter to see her.

"No, not at all. I'm really happy for you!" he said, grinning widely. "Is there something wrong?" he added after a brief moment of thought.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just wish you wouldn't make such a big deal out of everything," Judy grumbled.

"Not everything… just you two and Gazelle," Clawhauser chuckled. "By the way, Bogo called an early rollcall. You better hurry to the Bullpen, you only have a few minutes!"

"Right, thanks Clawhauser!" Judy said as she dragged Nick towards the Bullpen. "See ya later!"

"I wonder why Bogo called an early roll call… you don't think it's because of something that didn't make its way into the news, do you?" Nick asked as they made their way into the Bullpen. The room was shockingly empty, they were the first ones in. _I guess no one else got the memo,_ he chuckled to himself.

"Maybe… oh, I hope not," Judy mumbled as they climbed onto their shared seat, her once again settling in his lap.

"I have to ask. What's with this current arrangement?" he asked, gesturing to her seated in his lap. "Not that I'm complaining, of course."

"The metal chair is hard and sitting here I can actually see over the table, so I don't have to stand," she explained. "You're comfortable, what can I say?"

"Well… since we aren't on the clock yet…" he smirked, trailing off before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her against his chest. She chuckled softly as her ears perked up, slapping him in the face, just as the other officers started streaming into the room. They were in too much of a rush to notice the fox and bunny pressed tightly against each other, as they saw Bogo coming down the hall and knew he wouldn't be happy if they weren't all in the room before he was. Especially if he had something important to say.

"That was rude," Nick smirked as he let Judy go, though she didn't get off his lap, just as Bogo himself walked in with a serious expression on his face. Nick blinked a few times as he glanced around, searching for Wolfard and Charlotte, only to find they were absent. And he also noticed that he hadn't received a compromising picture of Wolfard this morning… which either meant things didn't go as planned, or they went _much_ better than planned.

Bogo didn't plan on waiting for Wolfard and Charlotte and immediately launched into his important announcement. "Rhinowitz is in the hospital," he growled.

Choruses of, "What? Why? How?" echoed throughout the room. Judy's ears drooped out of Nick's face, hanging flat against her back as she heard the news.

"Gunshot wounds," Bogo explained. "Thankfully the armor he usually wears and his thick hide prevented the damage from being lethal, but he was hit quite a few times by armor piercing rounds."

"We're gonna need a bit more than that, chief," Nick piped up, causing the cape buffalo to glare at him.

"After the number of murders started growing, Lionheart and I agreed that it would be a good idea to post a few bodyguards around him, in case our hyena mercenaries went after him, so Rhinowitz and Delgato were assigned as his bodyguards," Bogo said. "Four hyenas busted into the mayor's office and opened fire with low-caliber armor piercing submachinegun fire. Rhinowitz was hit multiple times, but Delgato managed to get the mayor into a safe position and both him and Lionheart are fine."

"What about the hyenas?" one of the officers asked, to which several echoed with panicked tones.

"Dead. All four of them," Bogo growled, crossing his arms. "Apparently they were gunned down by a high-powered sniper rifle before they could get to Delgato and Lionheart. We traced the trajectory of the rounds back to the building they were fired from, only to find nothing. The sniper got away."

"Blank," Judy mumbled to herself, though Nick managed to pick up on her words.

"We did, however, find traces of wolf fur at the scene. Which means we have more to worry about than just a band of hyena mercenaries," Bogo sighed. "Hopps, Wilde, how goes your hunt for our rogue hyena. We have lots of questions to ask her."

"We think we've managed to crack the password to the laptop she left us. Hopefully whatever's on that thing will be able to lead us to her," Judy answered.

"Excellent. Hopefully you'll be able to get some answers out of her soon," Bogo growled. "Listen up, I should inform you that city hall is considering dropping the restrictions on officers carrying firearms. While how successful this movement may be in protecting the citizens of Zootopia is difficult to foresee, what I can tell you is that this will set a precedent. I expect every mammal under eight feet tall to put in three hours at the practice range by the end of the week. Dismissed."

XXX

Nick and Judy sat against Wolfard and Charlotte's office door as they waited for the two wolves to show up. Apparently, they had locked the door behind them when they left last night. The rabbit and the fox had been waiting for ten minutes, Judy clutching the letter in her paws as her foot tapped impatiently against the floor.

Finally, as the fifteen-minute mark rolled around, Wolfard and Charlotte came running up to their office, panting heavily. "Sorry we're late!" the timber wolf said after he caught his breath. "We were just getting caught up by Clawhauser."

"Well we could've caught you up," Nick shrugged. In all honesty, he had been more than amused watching Judy slowly break down as they waited, her expression very similar to the one it held when he took her to the DMV.

"Yeah… well, we'd have to have gotten passed Clawhauser first, and you know him. Very chatty," Charlotte chuckled as she stepped forward to unlock the door. Nick's ear flicked as she stepped passed him, her scent reaching his nose. His eyes widened slightly before a smirk spread across his face.

Wolfard recognized that look and managed to think, _oh great,_ just a mere moment before Nick opened his mouth. "Smells like you had an interesting night," the fox said, turning to smirk at Wolfard. His scent was plastered all over the arctic wolf, in such a way that implied only one thing.

Charlotte grinned widely, not at all embarrassed, unlike Wolfard, who's face immediately went red, as she opened the office door. "We sure did," she replied as they entered the small office. "Wolfy forgot a condom though."

Nick burst out laughing, and even Judy, who was more concerned about opening the laptop, chuckled slightly as she hopped up onto Wolfard's desk. "Well sorry," the timber wolf muttered, stretching out the word 'sorry.' "I didn't realize I'd be having sex last night."

"That's because you're as dense as a-"

"Black hole, yeah, I heard that one," Wolfard grumbled as he sat down at his desk. "Enough about me, please, did you two find anything last night?"

"Aw, but you're my dense moron, Wolfy," Charlotte grinned, sitting down at her own desk.

"Wolfy, I'm using that," Nick chuckled, causing the timber wolf to let out a low groan. He liked it when Charlotte called him that, not Nick.

"Guys, focus," Judy growled, finally deciding to put her foot down. "We found a lock box last night and managed to open it. There was another letter inside," she said, handing the letter to Wolfard.

Wolfard read through it quickly before giving the note to Charlotte and pulling the laptop up. "I guess that's the password, huh?" he muttered as the laptop powered up. He entered the code when prompted and waited for a few seconds. Only to be denied once again. He stared at the screen blankly before turning it to face Judy. "It didn't work."

" _What?!_ " Judy screeched as she saw the words 'access denied' over place of the password prompt. She moved closer to the laptop and entered the code again, just to make sure Wolfard didn't mess it up, but ended up being denied once again. "But… but… but…"

"She said this was the key… but maybe we have the wrong lock," Nick guessed, crossing his arms.

"So this is just another piece to the puzzle?" Judy asked sarcastically.

"I have no idea, but if it doesn't work here, then it must work somewhere else. Maybe it's a key for a lock we don't have yet," Nick suggested.

"Really? When are we going to get this lock, then? Because we're short on time here," Judy mumbled.

"Do you think she knows you moved in with me?" he asked.

"Er… maybe, why?"

"She said she was watching you… but she can't see everything, I don't think. Maybe she left another letter in your door," he suggested.

"So… we should go back to my old apartment and check?" she asked skeptically.

"Worth a shot, I think."

"Fine… but she's really making this annoying," Judy grumbled, sliding off the desk.

"Like I said yesterday, it's just that last little step you need to take to gain the trust of another pred that'll fight tooth and claw for you," Nick chuckled.

"She'd better fuckin' fight tooth and claw for me after all this," Judy grumbled as she and Nick padded towards the door. "We'll be back as quickly as we can, stay here," she said, not turning around to face Wolfard and Charlotte.

"And no funny business either, ya hear?" Nick smirked as he followed Judy out of the room. Wolfard and Charlotte exchanged glances and rolled their eyes.

XXX

Judy's former apartment was close enough that they simply walked there. After a brief conversation with the armadillo landlady, she was given the keys to her room again, in case she needed to get in. The duo walked towards her old room and checked the door. Nothing.

Judy unlocked the door and walked in, the empty room reminding her of when she first moved in. Nick followed behind her and they began searching the shockingly bare room. They searched for what seemed like hours before they finally gave up. They found nothing.

"I don't understand, Nick," Judy growled as she slammed the door behind her. "Why would she go through all this trouble to give us a fake key?!"

"Well you never know, Fluff… maybe she just hasn't given us the lock yet," Nick shrugged, unsure of what else to say. "Maybe she's was too busy protecting the mayor and hasn't gotten around to giving us the next clue yet."

"We don't have time to sit around waiting for her to just give us the next clue!" she snarled. "We need to find her. We need to find her and beat the answers out of her. Screw this game of hers."

"And how do you plan on finding her?" he asked as they headed back towards the precinct, giving the keys to her old apartment back to the armadillo landlady.

"I don't know…" she sighed. "Maybe we could drive around the city screaming until she answers."

"I can see the headlines now: first fox and bunny cops lose their minds," he chuckled, smirking widely. "How will we ever regain our reputations after that?"

"We'll drag her ass to the media to clear our names after we find her," she grinned. "Then the headline will be: hero bunny and fox cops expose underground military force."

"I wonder how the public will respond," he pondered aloud. "I can't imagine that'll go over well for Lionheart."

"Yeah, that might end his career," Judy chuckled. Nick was about to respond, but the bunny's phone ringing prevented him from saying anything. The duo exchanged glances before she pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the number. Her eyes widened and she showed the phone to Nick.

The number was blank. "Well? You wanted to talk to her…" Nick said. "Because that's not creepy at all…"

Judy licked her lips nervously before answering the phone and holding it up to her ear. They had barely stepped out of the building, into the parking lot, but there was no one around. "Judy Hopps speaking," she said.

"You're getting colder, Bunny Cop," Blank's unmistakable voice sounded over the line. "Put me on speaker."

Judy did as she was told, holding her phone so both she and Nick could listen to the hyena. "Why did you give us a fake key?" the bunny asked.

"I'm very disappointed in that question, Bunny Cop," the hyena sighed. "You should know that nothing I give you is without purpose by now."

"You said in the letter that this was the key, and it didn't unlock the laptop," Judy growled. "So what the hell does the key go to?"

Blank was silent for far too long in both of their opinions. But eventually the hyena said, "Under normal circumstances this would be the end of the line for you. If you can't figure it out, then clearly you can't help me. But… I am desperate, Bunny Cop. So I'll give you a hint."

"Really?" Nick blurted out, not having expected this outcome. Judy nudged him, but Blank seemed to ignore the fox's outburst.

"The key _is_ to the laptop… it's just not the letters you need. Take another look at the letter I gave you," she finished.

"So it _is_ a fake key," Judy muttered.

"Not exactly Bunny Cop, and another response like that isn't gonna end well for you and your friends," Blank growled. "But it should go without saying that if you attempt to expose me or my operations, I'll kill that fox. See ya soon, Bunny Cop."

Then the line went dead. Nick's ears flattened against his head and his tail tucked between his legs when he heard those words. Judy couldn't help the shiver that went down her spine. Sure, it wasn't the first time the fox had been threatened, he had made _plenty_ of enemies throughout his life, but out of all those who had threatened him, Blank scared him the most. Because he knew she would actually kill him.

He wanted to say something to ease the situation, but his heart pounded in his chest and his voice failed him. "Well that wasn't creepy at all…" Judy muttered, putting her phone away. "She's watching me closer than I thought… Nick?" she asked, turning to look at the fox to see he was barely paying attention.

"Change of plans. Let's not expose her or the secret military Zootopia has," Nick mumbled after a few more prompts from Judy. "And this goes _far_ beyond creepy in my book."

"Don't worry Nick, I won't do anything to get you killed," Judy attempted to comfort him. It seemed to work, as Nick immediately relaxed when she set a paw on his arm, as she wasn't tall enough to reach his shoulder.

"I hope not, Judy," he said, shaking the fear away. "Let's get back to the precinct and figure out what the hell she means."

XXX

 **There we go, another one down! I know, a bit shorter than the last chapter, and it ends with a bit of a cliffhanger… but this is more of a transition chapter. For those of you who have yet to figure out what Blank meant in that second letter, now's your chance to solve it before Judy does! Anyways, things are still heating up, Lionheart was attacked but he's okay (though Rhinowitz isn't doing so great), and Judy and Nick went in the wrong direction, inadvertently making Blank a little angry. Hopefully they'll be able to solve her riddle now that they know sort of what they're looking for. Next chapter is shaping up to be pretty interesting, eh? Stay tuned until next time to find out what happens!**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Paw-to-Paw Combat:

Author's Note:

 **I only really have one review I'd like to address today. USA Patriot, thank you for reviewing, as always! I'm going to admit to baiting you a bit with the armor piercing SMG rounds, as I wondered what you'd have to say about it. I honestly didn't do my research and I was wondering if I should even put it in there or not, and in the end… well, I thought your little tirade might be interesting. I will say, though, that my only real experience with weaponry is from the world wars, so I do learn a lot from what you have to say. Anyways, I do have an explanation, though, if you would like to accept it. The hyenas build their own weapons (mostly), so technically they don't have anything you might recognize as a standard SMG. They make their own rounds as well, and the CSI unit just classified them as armor piercing because that's what they looked like.**

 **Moving on with what you had to say (and deciding to start a new paragraph as well), your idea of what the key might be is not at all correct. Well… sort of correct. You'll find out in this chapter and make your own decision on how correct you were. And as for the comic you prescribed, I've read it a few times before. And yes, I agree that it is a very good comic. Um… so, the lemon in chapter 14 wasn't my first, it was actually my fifth, but it was the first for this story. Sorry if that confused you. And also, I'm glad you liked it…** ** _really_** **liked it, judging by your other review to chapter 14. Lastly, Judy saying that she would drag Blank out and to the press was a** ** _joke_** **. But Blank took it seriously.**

 **Anyways, sorry for the long note and everything, there was just a lot to respond to. Let's get started, then. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Nick took deep breaths as he and Judy made their way back to Wolfard and Charlotte's office, trying to calm himself. But as they entered the office, his fur was still bristled and his ears were still flattened against his head. He was certainly panicked after having his life threatened. If anything, he'd have to say that Blank scared him more than Mr. Big. Which was saying a lot.

Charlotte looked over at them as they entered. Concern flashed in her eyes as she spotted the frightened look on Nick's face, and the fact that Judy's ears were hanging behind her head could only mean that their trip didn't go so well. "So? Did ya find anything?" she asked nonetheless.

"Only that we're being stalked by a complete psychopath!" Nick grumbled, crossing his arms as he watched Judy pull herself up onto Wolfard's desk. He chose to stay on the ground, his paw occasionally dipping towards his belt slightly, as if reaching for his gun before he thought better of it.

The arctic wolf raised an eyebrow. "Uh… what?" she asked. She hadn't expected the fox's outburst.

"Turns out our crazy hyena is _watching_ us!" Nick growled. "And she wasn't very happy about a joke Judy made. She threatened to _kill_ me."

"Well… uh… okay, that is a bit crazy. So she did contact you?" Charlotte asked, trying to get him back on topic. Cracking the laptop's password.

"Yeah, in the creepiest phone call I've ever listened to. And that's saying something," the fox sighed.

"Unfortunately she didn't give us much help. Just told us to look closer at the letter," Judy said.

"Well lucky for you, that's exactly what we've been doing while we waited," Wolfard said, sliding the letter that Judy had left behind closer to the rabbit.

"Really? What have you found?" Judy asked, raising an eyebrow as she took the letter and scanned over it, looking at the marks the two wolves had made on the paper.

"Look at the first letter for each paragraph," Wolfard said, gesturing towards the note. "We noticed that the paragraphs seemed a little short and disjointed, so we looked at the starting letters. And it spells something."

"Cipher?" Judy asked, looking up at the timber wolf. "What the hell is a cipher?"

"It's a way to encrypt information," Charlotte piped up. "My mom and I used to do it all the time to pass notes without my father knowing."

"Uh…"

"Long story, doesn't matter," the arctic wolf shook their confused and concerned looks away. That bastard was long dead anyways. "The important thing is that if we can find the keyword I should be able to solve it."

"Keyword?"

"Yeah, a keyword. Something simple like apple or banana, or whatever. You write down the alphabet and under it write the keyword before filling in the rest of the letters, without repeating, creating a code you can use to encrypt information," Charlotte explained.

"No, I mean, do you guys know the keyword?" Judy clarified.

"Er… no, no we don't. We'd hoped you guys would have an idea," Charlotte chuckled before scratching the back of her neck sheepishly.

Judy let out a sigh and tried to think back to the other letter the hyena had left. "Okay… what about heart?" she asked. _I left the key buried in the heart,_ a line from the other letter. Maybe it was something as simple as that.

Charlotte worked for a few minutes, pulling out a piece of paper and beginning to write. The other members of the group waited a few minutes as she worked. Finally, she looked up and said, "Alright, try YLABKOET."

Wolfard nodded and typed in the key, waiting a few seconds until the screen flashed red once again. "Nope, not it," he said.

"Try Yorick," Nick said, hoping the odd name might have some success, as he too remembered it from the first letter.

Charlotte worked once more, taking significantly less time than her first try, as she had already written the alphabet down. A few minutes later she looked up and said, "Try ANMJDPST." Though she doubted it would work. Something told her that the key would be an actual word.

Wolfard once again typed in the new key before getting the red screen once more. "Access denied, again," he sighed. "Any other ideas?"

"How about Conrad?" Judy asked, throwing her paws into the air. Maybe it was the strange name Blank kept referring to her as. Though she doubted they would be able to just _guess_ the key.

"You know, judging by what we're trying to decipher, I'd say that the key has a 'Y' in it somewhere," Charlotte said before turning back to her work nonetheless. "Try YMKHFPTS."

Third time's the charm didn't seem to be ringing true as Wolfard typed the code in, only to receive another red screen. "And we have _another_ wrong answer," he said, managing a small smile as he attempted to imitate a gameshow host.

"Oh to hell with it… try hyena for all I fucking care! But if we keep this up, we'll be here all year," Nick growled, throwing his paws into the air. "I'm starting to agree with you, Fluff, she's _really_ getting annoying with all these puzzles."

"I don't know why she's doing this, Nick… it's all just so aggravating," the rabbit grumbled, hopping off the desk with a disheartened look in her eyes. Charlotte rolled her eyes at Nick's suggestion and began working on the code once more.

"Either of you tell Bogo what I'm about to do and I'll rat you out faster than Clawhauser goes through donuts," Nick growled, glaring at the two wolves. They glanced at each other before realizing he was talking about them having sex with each other. They glanced back at the fox and nodded, hoping their little secret was safe with him, before the fox padded over to Judy and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Carrots that today's gone to shit. I'm aggravated and honestly scared out of my skin, and not just for me, for you as well."

Judy relaxed in his hold, not expecting him to make a move like that, but she did feel a lot better in his arms, especially when he rested his muzzle on top of her head, breathing in her scent. She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming down nearly instantly.

Their embrace lasted several minutes, neither of the wolves willing to break them out of their own little world, but Nick finally pulled away. "Sorry about that, Judy, I know we're at work and we could get in a lot of trouble, but I really needed that," he chuckled with a wide smile on his face. "To make it up to you, how about we go on our first official date?"

"A date?" Judy asked, excitement creeping into her eyes. She had never gone on a real date before. And, although she had never even considered dating before she met Nick, she had always wanted to go on one. Just to see what it was like. "When and where?"

"How about a little place I know that caters to both preds and preys? It's called the El Dorado Café. The dress is nice, but not formal, and it serves some of the best food I've ever had," he said, clearly having put some thought into this. "And we can go tomorrow."

"Tomorrow sounds great!" Judy said excitedly, refraining from punching him on the shoulder in her giddiness.

"Hey, I got something, if you guys don't mind getting back on topic," Charlotte said, catching both of their attentions. "I think this is it, so maybe save your date talk until we open the laptop."

Nick sent her a short glare before grumbling, "Fine, but I doubt this is it either."

"Try BLACKOUT," Charlotte said, crossing her arms. The fact that it was an actual word gave it a good shot, but she waited with bated breath as Wolfard typed the word into the password box.

To all of their surprises, the screen flashed a cheery green color and booted up into a typical screen saver that one would see when logging onto any normal computer. "Yes, we're in!" Wolfard said as began moving the mouse with the touchpad. Only for the screen to go black, a single green vertical line remaining at the top left of the screen.

"Uh… what just happened?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow. "Please don't tell me we just did her job for her and erased the damn thing's hard drive."

But no sooner had those words left the fox's mouth did the green line start to move. And words were left in its wake. Wolfard raised an eyebrow as he began reading aloud, "Congratulations on finally cracking the code, it took you long enough. It looks like one of you already knew what a cipher was and how to solve them, but I am thankful I don't have to sit here at this computer for another day for you to crack the code. Though, judging from your earlier attempts at going through the dictionary, it wouldn't have taken you too much longer…"

Judy, realizing that Wolfard was reading something, pulled herself onto the desk in order to get a better look at the words on the screen. She stared at the screen as the green line started a new paragraph and began moving forward once again. She let out a short chuckle. "Why go through all this trouble if she could just call me?" she grumbled.

"I dunno, Fluff," Nick mumbled as he too made his way onto the desk to get a better look at the laptop.

"Shh," Wolfard urged before beginning to read again. "Now, back to business. You solved every puzzle I've laid before you, and despite you having help, you're clearly up to snuff. I'd like to meet with you. Preferably today… as soon as possible."

Judy brightened, it was all worth it. "Alright, good, we've got a meeting. Hopefully we can find out what the hell she wants," she grinned.

"Hold on, Fluff, there's a catch coming, I can smell it," Nick grumbled, crossing his arms.

"I'd like to meet with you alone, of course, for one… final assessment. When the home screen comes back up you'll find a file attachment that will fill you in on everything you need," Wolfard read. "Bring the laptop with you." And with that, the black screen vanished, and they were left with the rather plain background of the home screen, a file now in the center of the screen.

Wolfard blinked a few times before clicking on the file. His eyes widened at what pulled up. It looked remarkably similar to a police profile, with a mugshot of the elephant who had been found dead at Savannah Central a few days ago. The box that would usually hold the mammal's name was blank, though under 'aliases' it said Howard Tuskly. He continued to read over the file until he spotted his place of residence.

"Alright, judging by the profile she sent us, she wants to meet you at the Tusk Central apartment complex," Wolfard said, glancing over at Judy, who's eyes were flicking across the screen. "Are we sure it's wise to let you meet her alone?"

"We don't have much of a choice," Judy sighed. "As much as I'd like to bring Nick along… I don't think we should risk upsetting her."

"Judy, are you sure?" Nick immediately asked. "The way she so nonchalantly threatened me means that she's dangerous. I… I don't think you should go alone."

"Yeah. If enough of us went, then there would be no way she would try anything aggressive!" Charlotte pointed out.

"No. If she doesn't think she can take us in a fight, she'll just run, and then I'll never get another chance to meet with her," Judy rationed. "I have to go alone." She slid off the desk once again, memorizing the name Howard Tuskly, knowing that she would likely need it at the front desk, she took off.

Nick stared at the doorway she vanished through, waiting a few minutes until he was sure she was gone before turning to the other two mammals in the room. "I'm not letting her go alone. I don't care what she said, I'm going to follow her… and at least make sure she's safe," he said.

"It's a risky move. If you get caught, and if Blank doesn't kill you, Judy surely would," Charlotte said.

"All that matters to me is making sure she's safe," Nick replied immediately. "No one will see me if I go alone."

"Hold on a moment, we can't let you go alone," Wolfard said. "That's the same thing you don't want Judy to do."

"The more mammals that come, the more likely that we're gonna get spotted," the fox sighed.

"But the more likely we'll be able to fight her if we do," the timber wolf shot back.

"Fine… what do you have in mind?"

XXX

Judy drove to the Tusk Central apartment complex, parking in the building's parking lot. Unlike most other complexes, that were built with height in mind, this one was built almost like it was lying on its side. Though she supposed that made sense, as only the largest and heaviest of mammals were given rooms in the building. It wasn't the only complex built in this fashion, but it was one of the few. There weren't many places that accepted the largest mammals.

She climbed out of the car and took a quick look around. While this was just a meeting, she was on her guard. Blank was a wily one, and highly dangerous. _Better safe than sorry,_ she muttered to herself as she walked into the building, thankful for the automatic doors. They were so large that she wouldn't have been able to get in on her own.

She made her way over to the front desk, stopping a few feet away so the elephant behind the counter could see her. "Um, excuse me?" Judy called out, hoping to catch the elephant's attention, as she was staring into her phone.

The larger mammal blinked a few times before looking down to see the rabbit. "Yes?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Judy Hopps, I'm with the ZPD," the bunny said, holding up her badge. "I need to know which room Howard Tuskly is staying in."

The elephant let out a sigh before turning to her computer and typing something in. Judy waited, resisting the urge to tap her feet in impatience. _I wonder if I'm too early,_ the rabbit thought to herself, but immediately dismissed it. "He booked the last room on hall to your left," the elephant behind the desk said after a moment of silence.

"Thank you, ma'am," Judy said, giving the elephant a small smile before turning down the left hallway. She set a brisk pace, her eyes scanning the hallway as she walked down it, ever wary of a trap. One paw remained on her gun, the other was holding the laptop Blank asked her to bring. It was too big for her, but she managed to hold onto it with only one paw while moving.

The hallway was long and barren of other mammals, they were all locked tight within their rooms. Judy couldn't help the shiver that raced down her spine as she came to a stop at the end of the hallway, facing the imposing door of what once was Howard Tuskly's room.

Judy sucked in a deep breath before knocking on the door. Blank didn't give her any particular password or signal to let her know to open the door, Judy wasn't sure what else she could do other than knock. So she stood there, staring at the door, as if hoping her gaze would melt the massive wooden object, as she waited and hoped that someone, anyone, would answer the door.

The minutes ticked by, and Judy found herself tapping her foot rapidly in impatience. _This is outrageous…_ she grumbled internally. Though, she did suppose Blank said there would be a final test. Perhaps it was figuring out how to open the door? It would be easy to go back to the front desk and request that the elephant sitting there open the door for her, but that seemed too easy.

Licking her lips, she thought of other solutions. _Perhaps there's a secret knock she didn't tell me about,_ Judy wondered as she stepped closer to the door again. _Or maybe the door is too thick to hear my soft taps._ Deciding to give knocking one more shot, Judy pounded on the door as hard as she could, causing her paw to ache, and shouted, "This is officer Hopps, open up!"

And then she stepped back again to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. _Nothing,_ she growled. This was getting frustrating. _Perhaps I'm too early,_ she sighed to herself. Though, that wouldn't be her fault. It was that blasted hyena's fault for not giving her a time to show up.

Judy sucked in another breath and let it out slowly. This hyena was truly testing her patience. She tilted her head back and took a few deep breaths as she tried to figure out what to do. _Maybe…_ her mind trailed off as she came to one other possible solution. She didn't like it, but it was worth a shot.

Stepping forward once again, she knocked hard once more, ignoring her aching paw. "This is Mr. Conrad," she called out. Her ears swiveled as she heard the door unlock and the handle turn. Blinking, she looked up as the door was slowly pulled open. Blank had been calling her Mr. Conrad… even in the second letter. It was worth a shot, and it paid off.

But that small moment of elation from figuring out yet another one of that hyena's puzzles vanished in an instant as the door began to open. Her ears fell flat against the back of her head and her nose twitched as the scent of _death_ rushed out of the room and seemed to surround her. The scent was palpable, so much so that Judy swore she could taste the corpses upon her tongue. She couldn't stop herself from trembling and taking a step backwards, expecting the reaper himself to come leaping from the room, and drag her back in.

But nothing came jumping out at her, not even as the door finished opening completely. Judy took deep breaths as she stared at the inky black abyss that was the room. No light emanated from the room, which was odd, considering that the sun was still high in the sky. Which meant the windows had to be covered with something. Taking deep breaths to steel her nerves, Judy set the laptop down on the ground against the wall, and drew her gun, as well as a flashlight.

She couldn't hold both with the laptop taking up one of her paws, and she had a feeling she would need both. She clicked the flashlight on and padded into the room, the small light doing its best to illuminate the massive room, at least compared to her. It was a remarkably simple room, just a single chair, a small table with an ashtray on it, and a small TV.

Deciding to ignore the lack of décor, this _was_ likely a temporary room, she pressed onwards, heading towards the bedroom. Blank _had_ to be here! Who else would've opened the door? But she didn't drop her guard nor lower her weapon as she continued into the deceased elephant's room. The scent was getting stronger, suggesting that it was coming from Tuskly's bedroom.

The moment Judy stepped into the bedroom, the lights went on. Judy covered her eyes from the sudden shift in intensity, taking an instinctive step backwards as she tried to squint through the brightness. She blinked rapidly as her eyes finally began to adjust to the change in luminosity, only to immediately regret that they did.

Her eyes widened in horror at the scene she could now see, causing her to drop to her knees. She began to hyperventilate, sucking in deep breaths, and exhaling them quickly as her mouth hung agape. She trembled in place for a few seconds before the world began to stop turning, and time seemed to slow down to a crawl.

She watched, her visage still in that soundless scream, as she watched blood began to flow down the leg of the hanging corpse suspended above the elephant's simple-looking bed. The red liquid began to form into a drop at the bottom of the mammal's foot, swelling in size for a few seconds before it could no longer hold on, falling from its host, and landing in a large puddle that had formed on the mattress. Accompanied by the tiniest little _sploosh._

And with that tiny sound, the world began to turn again, jolting Judy out of her stupor, causing her to release a loud _scream_. There were bodies, bodies everywhere, and all of them were hyenas. Some hanging from the ceiling, others just lying dead on the floor, but all of them, _all of them_ , were positioned so that they were staring at the doorway, _staring at her_ , with their blank, listless gazes.

Judy did the only thing she could do, she let out another scream as she stumbled backwards, now sitting on her ass as she tried to push herself away from the bedroom. She dropped her flashlight, though it was no longer needed, but kept ahold of her gun, though she didn't point it at any of the corpses. She continued to take deep breaths, though she felt like not breathing at all, as she could still taste the death in the room.

Regaining her wits, at least partially, she examined the bodies in the room. Some, such as the one hanging by its neck over the bed, were fresh. Likely only dying a few hours ago. Though some had been dead for days, and decay had already set in. Judy clenched her gun tighter as she glanced around the room, looking for Blank. _Is this just a sick joke to her?_ the bunny wondered when she couldn't find the hyena.

" _Judy!_ " a voice sounded from the doorway to the room was unmistakable to her. She froze, the trembling stopping entirely, as her ears stood tall on her head once more. Then slowly, she turned her head to look at the concerned fox taking a step into the room.

" _Nick!_ " Judy shouted, at first surprised, and then incredibly angry. Why the hell was he here? Judy watched as he grimaced from the smell of the room before rushing over to her. She wasn't able to stop him from kneeling and wrapping his arms around her comfortingly.

"Judy, are you all right? We heard screaming!" he said, pulling away from her slightly. He kept his gaze locked onto her eyes, having yet to look into the bedroom.

"Nick, I'm fine, what are you doing here?" she asked, pulling away from him and standing again. She didn't want to admit it, but his presence made the fear go away, and now, focusing on him, she could no longer taste the death in the air. "Wait… we?!"

At the mention of more mammals, Wolfard and Charlotte, as well as a tiger Judy recognized to be Fangmeyer, and a lion Judy knew to be Delgato stepped into the apartment. "We heard you screaming, and we wanted to make sure you were all right," Wolfard admitted, scratching the back of his neck. He had protested, but Nick insisted that they bring more backup, just in case. They had planned to just wait in the lobby until Judy was finished, but after hearing her scream…

"Yes, but _why are you here?!_ " Judy growled. "She wanted me to come alone…"

"And if you think for one second that we were just going to sit around at the precinct while you go and meet some crazy psychopath, you're dead wrong," Nick replied, standing as well.

"Well it doesn't matter. She's not here," the rabbit sighed.

"Aw, that's because you didn't look hard enough, bunny cop!" another voice sounded, seemingly echoing from all directions. Nick immediately drew his weapon and began glancing around the room, as did the other officers, but they were unable to find the source of the voice. "And crazy psychopath? I resent that!"

There was a loud _bang_ as the heavy door slammed shut, revealing the hyena dressed in a flak jacket and trench coat. _She was hiding behind the door,_ Judy deadpanned, before realizing that Blank was wearing a gasmask. "Are you going to take that mask off?" Nick asked, bringing his weapon to bear on the hyena.

"I'd rather not," Blank said, her voice once again echoing around the room. _Microphone in the mask, speakers all around the room. Clever,_ Judy thought to herself as she lowered her weapon. She wasn't here to fight. "Now then, bunny cop, I thought I told you to come _alone_."

"I _did_ come alone!" Judy protested, crossing her arms. "These idiots followed me."

"Unacceptable," the hyena shook her head.

"Now, hold on a moment. It's true, we followed her," Nick said, not lowering his weapon, though he did take a step forward. "You threatened me, and you're an unknown. You can't fault us for wanting to make sure she was safe!"

"So… I give you trust and you not only do not return it, but you betray my trust as well?" Blank asked, growl evident in her echoing voice. "Insubordination is punishable by death."

"We aren't your damn lackeys!" Nick snarled, taking a few steps forward, adjusting his aim so he was still pointing his weapon at her head. "And you're a murderer. We could arrest you now and put you away for a long time! So, if you have something to say to Judy, say it, and go the hell away!"

Blank stared at him for a long time, looking down at him with what would surely be a bored expression if she wasn't wearing that gasmask, despite the gun he was pointing at her. The minutes ticked by in silence as the two engaged in a staring contest. But, eventually, Blank was the one to break the silence. "No," she said simply.

Nick only had time to cock his head and raise an eyebrow, before his expression became one of surprise as she kicked him as hard as she could, launching him backwards so that he landed next to Judy. He let out a loud groan and clenched his eyes tight as he tried to right himself and point his gun at her again. This time he was intent on shooting her.

But she had other plans. Before the others could even react, she pulled a silver canister from behind her back and pulled the pin. She tossed it onto the ground, letting it roll closer to Judy. "Grenade!" Wolfard shouted, grabbing Charlotte, and trying to pull her away from the explosion. He didn't know what else to do.

All the others reacted similarly, Nick dropping his gun in favor of pulling Judy into the bedroom, away from the blast, and the tiger and lion moving as far away as they could. But there wasn't an explosion. The canister began to steam, propelling smoke into the air. The others looked over at the grenade, confusion dotting their faces as they realized it wasn't a bomb.

 _Smoke?_ Judy thought to herself as she watched the gas begin to fill the room. The door and windows were shut tight, creating a seal that kept almost all the gas in the room. She sucked in a breath, inhaling some of the gas as she tried to process what was going on. Nick had let her go in favor of grabbing his gun, now _really_ intent on killing that bitch. The others began to right themselves too, lowering themselves in case Blank decided to attack.

But she never did. She stood there, staring at Nick as he retrieved his weapon. _Gasmask… why is she wearing a gasmask?_ Judy thought to herself as she breathed in once again. Then the world seemed to turn upside down as she collapsed to her knees. _Oh no…_ she realized as she watched Nick stumble in his step. "Knockout gas!" she cried out before keeling over onto her side, fighting to stay away.

Nick heard her too late as he grabbed his gun, but couldn't find the strength in his arms to raise it. He did his best to fight the sleep, but in the end, he too fell over and didn't rise again. Blank looked over at the other mammals in the room to see them struggling to stay on their feet as well. But the gas was designed for smaller mammals, and would take quite a bit longer to start working on the larger wolves, not to mention the lion and tiger.

Charlotte managed to pull her tranq gun from her belt and fire a dart at the hyena, only for it to hit her flak jacket. The gas was making her drowsy, throwing her aim off, not that there was any good place for a tranq dart to actually pierce the hyena. Growling, the officers prepared to make a last stand, hoping that fighting the hyena in paw-to-paw combat would keep them awake.

Blank cracked her neck and prepared to take down the last of the mammals the old-fashioned way. _Of all the times to be unarmed,_ she chuckled to herself. The lion charged first, followed closely by the tiger. She spotted the two wolves trying to flank around her out of the corner of her eye just as the large lion descended upon her.

She leaned out of the way before bringing her knee up to slam into the lion's chest, knocking the air out of his lungs as he collapsed onto the ground, coughing loudly. Pivoting on one foot, she blocked the tiger's punch and countered with a strike of her own, hitting his guard, and pushing him backwards, stumbling from the sheer force of her blow.

A battle was waged in seconds, and that was a fact that Blank knew well as time seemed to slow down around her. The reeling tiger was no threat to her, nor was the still coughing lion, but the two wolves rushing towards her side certainly were. She saw with her keen eyes the timber wolf glance down at his fallen comrade, a plan immediately coming to fruition in her mind. It was too bad the arctic wolf wasn't similarly distracted.

Balancing on one foot, she kicked upwards as hard as she could just as Wolfard came into range, slamming right between his legs. The timber wolf let out a loud cry as he collapsed to his knees, clutching his damaged groin as Blank turned and caught the arctic wolf's punch. Smirking, though she knew no one could see it, she pulled Charlotte forward and hit the arctic wolf's elbow as hard as she could.

There was a loud _snap!_ as Charlotte's arm bent the wrong way, breaking immediately. She screamed in agony as Blank let go of her arm to finish off Wolfard. She could only watch as the hyena punched the timber wolf across the face hard enough to knock him out. Wolfard was unable to defend himself, and keeled over, blood pooling from his mouth.

Charlotte screamed in anger as she rushed Blank again, hitting the hyena as hard as she could in the side, right where the kidney was. But the flak jacket absorbed the blow, as well as the flurry of strikes the one-armed arctic wolf threw next. Blank only ignored her, more focused on the tiger that had righted himself and charged her again, a roar forming on his lips.

Shoving Charlotte away from her, Blank lowered herself and charged forwards as well. The tiger let out a growl of surprise when she rolled out of the way. He tried to stop, but his momentum caused him to stumble and fall over. He quickly righted himself, but was sent right back down to the ground as Blank grabbed the small table next to the only piece of furniture in the room and smashed it over his head.

Charlotte watched as Fangmeyer struggled to get up, but eventually lied flat against the ground, giving up. Blank tossed aside the leg she was still grasping onto and approached Charlotte to finish the fight. But the sleeping gas was finally starting to affect the arctic wolf, the beating she had taken not helping the matter. No matter how much adrenaline was pumping through her system at that moment, it couldn't stop her from falling over onto her side, her eyes slowly shutting.

Blank watched as her last opponent was incapacitated. _Sleeping gas was a good idea,_ she chuckled to herself as she turned her back on the officers, not caring what sort of condition they were in, and made her way over to the bunny cop. She had suspected that Judy would bring backup, and although she believed them that the bunny had come alone and the others had just followed, they needed to be taught a lesson.

She kneeled over Judy's prone form, as she was well and good knocked out, and picked her up. "Come on bunny cop, let's go somewhere more… private," the hyena muttered as she began to walk out of the room, holding Judy in her arms. Despite this betrayal of trust, and the rabbit's reliance on her friends, Blank still needed her.

The hyena opened the door, releasing the gas into a wider area. She doubted that it would have any effect on the larger mammals that called this complex home, and figured the gas would disperse completely in a few hours. Around the time the other officers would be waking up. She took a step out of the room before she heard a loud _bang!_

The noise, as well as the sound of metal being pierced, startled her so much she nearly dropped Judy. She whipped around to see Nick struggling to hold up his gun and fire off another shot. Blank stood there, waiting to see if Nick would fire again, but he didn't. He only dropped his gun and closed his eyes. This time for real.

 _He did well to hold out against the gas for so long… good thing he missed, he totally had me duped,_ Blank thought to herself before taking a deep breath. And immediately getting a whiff of the knockout gas. Realizing what happened, she brought her paw up to the filter on her gasmask and felt around for a few seconds. He had fired a hold through the filter of her mask, effectively rendering it useless.

Grumbling to herself, she slipped the apparatus off her face, cradling Judy in one arm, before tossing it aside. She shook herself, already feeling the effects of the gas, and began to walk out of the room again, this time keeping her ears pricked for sounds of movement. But she heard none.

On her way down the hall, she spotted a laptop she instantly recognized. Grinning slightly and thinking, _At least she followed one order,_ she picked up the laptop and continued on her way.

XXX

 **Woo! Lots of things here, and I'll admit that this was a difficult chapter to write. I almost wanted to put the fight scene in its own separate chapter, but I decided to keep it here. So, yes, obviously Nick made a stupid mistake. Well… it was a little bit of Wolfard's fault, but mostly Nick's. Don't be too hard on him now, he did what he thought was right. The only one who saw Blank fighting was Judy, she was the only one who had firsthand experience with how dangerous that hyena could be. Of course, it was a reasonable assumption that two wolves, a tiger, and a lion would make a difference. It didn't, but it's reasonable that Nick thought that it might.**

 **Anyways, Blank's use of the knockout gas really evened the playing field a bit, and allowed her to take a slumbering Judy away from the group. Now, I doubt that she wants to hurt our favorite bunny cop, but I do wonder what's so important that she has to tell Judy, and Judy alone? Stay tuned to find out!**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 - The Only Solution:

Author's Note:

 **Last chapter was pretty intense, no? I had fun with it, at least. This chapter is less fun, and more informative. We're focusing entirely on Judy and Blank here… I kinda wanted to do a scene with Nick going a bit crazy, but I decided it wasn't worth it. If that lets you in on how I think through a chapter at all. Anyways, there are just a couple things I want to say before I start the chapter.**

 **USA Patriot, thank you for reviewing once again! You are indeed my only "gun guy" reviewer. I will admit to doing a lot of research on weapons for my stories, but I'm not always a hundred percent correct, so it's nice to have someone to call me on it. That way I know I need to correct something. And as for your "Lol, we've looked at the same porn and we don't even know each other," comment being a "positive thing," I would say it's more of a statistical probability. I am in no way a furry, and yet I will admit to doing a lot of… let's just call it "research" for chapter fourteen, so while I am not particularly familiar with the "artists" you named, I have seen a lot of their work while… browsing. The best and most tactful way I can put it. And you've also made me question how bad my first lemon actually is (as I'm basically the virginiest virgin ever). In any case, I'm glad you liked the chapter.**

 **I'd just like to clear up a few things about the last chapter, in case any of you thought there was any way Nick could ever have outwitted Blank. I saw the idea floating around that if the mammals had just** ** _armed_** **themselves better, they would've stood a better chance. And for that, I would say: absolutely not. For one thing, Blank (who is monitoring Judy (and Nick by extension) closely) would've found out, and armed herself (which would spell death for them). And even if she didn't, the larger mammals would be breaking the law, and would have been fired. The second idea I heard was if Nick just brought smaller mammals with him that could carry arms, they would've fared better. Again, two problems with that. One, in chapter one, it's stated that Nick and Judy are the only officers on the force to carry guns, implying that they are the only small mammals on the force. Two, the knockout gas would've just knocked them all out just as quickly as it did Nick and Judy.**

 **Anyways… I** ** _was_** **going to put this chapter out last Saturday, but I wasn't able to finish it, so I thought 'I'll just release it on my birthday,' but then I was too busy to finish it… so here we are. I figured I'd put something out on the 4** **th** **of July at least. I know it's been awhile, but we're all ready to go! Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Judy's eyes began to open, but remained mostly lidded. Her head hurt. It felt like twenty jackhammers were all pounding on her skull, burrowing into her brain, and stealing the strength to get up. She had no idea where she was, but she could tell she was on a couch. _Nick's apartment?_ she wondered briefly, before immediately throwing it out.

There was muffled music blasting throughout the room. She couldn't quite make it out, but she didn't think the singer was speaking English. She couldn't remember Nick's apartment ever full of foreign music. She tried to remember what happened to her, but at the moment, it was all fuzzy. She was trying to place the music, and why it was so muffled, when she heard the door open and shut loudly.

"Can you turn that racket down?!" a voice all but screamed. Judy turned her head slightly to see the blurry, black shape walk into the room and past the couch. She swore she had heard that voice before… but she couldn't quite place it. "You're gonna fucking wake her!" _Her… her is me,_ Judy realized.

"What?" another loud voice managed to pierce through the music. It sounded distinctly male, but Judy was absolutely sure she had never heard it before. But that female's voice… she was still positive she had heard it.

There was a sudden shift in tone of the singer's voice, causing Judy to jolt upwards, her eyes flying open, despite the searing headache it caused. She managed to catch a glimpse of a hyena in a trench coat glaring down at a sitting white wolf, wearing glasses and headphones before she fell over and gripped her head from the pain.

"Turn that shit off!" the hyena commanded, slapping the back of the wolf's head before rushing over to the couch. The wolf grumbled, which was barely audible over the still blasting music from his headphones, before he shut it off. Judy felt the hyena flip her over onto her back, and shove something into her paws. Braving the pain, she opened her eyes again to see what the hyena gave her.

Pills. Small, red pills that looked a lot like Advil. Gratefully gulping them down, dry swallowing them as she had been offered no water, she gripped her head again as she waited for the headache to fade. "You know, if you keep blasting that music into your ears, you're gonna go deaf," the hyena growled, padding back over to the wolf.

The wolf cocked his head and put a paw up to his ear, saying, "Huh?" as he did. A stupid expression was present on his face as he pretended he couldn't hear the hyena.

The hyena rolled her eyes and leaned against the back of the couch, glaring at the wolf. "Can you even speak German?" she growled.

"I don't know, can I?" he asked, his hearing impairment having miraculously disappeared.

"I'll take that as a no, then," she smirked.

"So what? Doesn't mean I can't like the song," he growled, crossing his arms.

"I can't believe that you can still hear, to be honest. How do you get it to play so loud through those headphones?" she asked

"Custom made, duh. Store-bought headphones would never get this loud because it 'damages hearing,'" he made air quotes in the air as he turned back around to face the computer, setting his headphones aside. "Life's short, especially for me, so I figure I can take the risk."

"Whatever, just keep it down while I talk to her," the hyena muttered as she turned on her heel and walked back around the couch. Judy watched her with wide eyes, the headache fading. And as it faded, the memories of what had happened to her started to come back.

"Wha… what are you doing? Where am I? Where's Nick?" Judy asked rapidly as the hyena pulled a chair over and sat across from the bunny, a coffee table between them. The hyena was silent as she pulled off her trench coat and set it aside, revealing her bare arms to the rabbit. Which meant she was likely not wearing a shirt under that flak jacket.

Judy watched, her gaze settling into a glare as the hyena pulled out a cigarette pack and a lighter. "You're on a government black site," the hyena said, putting a cancer stick in her mouth and lighting it. "So I can't tell you any more than that."

"Then what are we doing here? And where is Nick?" Judy asked, managing to sit up and look at the hyena in her eyes.

"Talking," the hyena chuckled, exhaling smoke through her nostrils. "And I don't know who Nick is."

"Bullshit! Nick is the fox, my boy… friend," Judy said, before realizing she had never called Nick that aloud. It didn't matter… all that was important was figuring out where he was.

"Incapacitated. Don't worry, he's fine," the hyena said nonchalantly. "But I brought you here to talk about us, not him."

"Us? _Us?!_ " Judy growled. "There is no us. And I'm not going to talk about anything else until you tell me where Nick is… and give me proof that he's fine." The rabbit crossed her arms and leaned back on the couch, looking pleased with herself.

The hyena rolled her eyes once again and leaned forward, slamming her fist onto the coffee table. Judy jumped, but the table didn't break. Exhaling smoke once again, the hyena hissed, "There is an us, now at least. Your fox is fine, trust me."

"It's a little hard to trust you when you attacked my friends… and gassed me!" Judy protested.

"Because they didn't follow orders…"

"We aren't your soldiers," Judy growled. "And we never will be."

"Is that so?" the hyena asked, leaning back in the chair, and propping her feet up on the table. She placed the cancer stick back into her mouth and inhaled deeply. "Check your holster."

Raising an eyebrow, Judy put a paw against her hip and felt the familiar presence of her gun. Drawing it from its holster, she held it up. "You didn't take it from me?" she asked, pressing the clip release button, and checking the ammo. It was all there. She was armed and holding a weapon.

"Trust, Bunny Cop, is a difficult thing to come by, especially for someone in my position," the hyena said. "I've extended it to you, and I would appreciate it in return. That's why I attacked your friends and gassed you. You betrayed my trust… but I'm in a bit of a bind… so I'm maybe making the same mistake again."

"So the point of letting me keep my gun is…"

"By all means, if you're not my little bunny soldier like I thought you were, then shoot me," she said nonchalantly, exhaling smoke once again. "I'm afraid you won't get far, however."

"So you're threatening me?" Judy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just stating the facts. And the facts are that you can take your chances with me… or with the dozens and dozens of mercenaries that are no doubt converging on this location as we speak," the hyena sighed. "Which is why I don't have time to pussyfoot around."

"Oh…" Judy muttered, lowering her weapon. _It's not like I could shoot her anyways,_ she grumbled internally. "Okay then… so what do you want?"

"I'm sure you have lots of questions for me, but we're gonna have to get to those later," the hyena sighed. "When I said I need you as a soldier, I might've given you the wrong idea. What I really need is a puzzle solver."

"Which would be why you sent me on that scavenger hunt," Judy realized. "You didn't make it easy."

"It wasn't supposed to be easy," the hyena shook her head. "But I figured if anyone could do it… it would be you."

"Well I'm flattered," the bunny muttered. "But that only answers why I'm here. What do you need me for?"

The hyena sucked in a deep breath, before exhaling loudly, smoke billowing around her head. "I am… or was, part of a team called BLACKOUT. The badger that you found in the fox's apartment, and the elephant you found at Savannah Central were both a part of my team," she explained. "They were killed by a group of hyena mercenaries that I know have targeted myself, my other team member, and our boss."

"O… kay…" the rabbit said slowly. She had thought the hyena said there was no time for explanations.

The hyena took another drag before continuing with, "My boss, your mayor, has protection. Or at least, they won't go after him again until myself and my teammate are dead. I can take care of myself, and I know they're coming," she sighed. "But I don't know where my teammate is. I don't know if he's alive or dead, if he knows he's being hunted or not, or if he knows that we've lost two teammates already."

"So… you want me to find him?" Judy asked, crossing her arms. If the hyena was looking for help, that meant that she had already tried and failed to find her friend.

"Yeah, basically," the hyena sighed. "He left behind a rather… cryptic letter that I just can't seem to crack. Nor can Wolfgang von Deutsche over there." She let out a short chuckle as the white wolf at the computer turned around to glare at her.

"So the weird letters, infuriating puzzles, and the… stalking weren't just a test of trust, they were a test of usefulness as well," the rabbit observed.

"I thought I said that in my first letter," the hyena shrugged.

"Barely," Judy grumbled. "In any case, give me the letter and I'll get to work. Even though I really shouldn't."

The hyena reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper before putting it on the coffee table. "What do you mean you shouldn't?" she asked, cocking her head.

"I mean, you gave me all those puzzles and you beat the shit out of my friends and now you're asking me to help you… I really shouldn't be doing this for free," Judy growled as she snatched the letter off the coffee table.

"If it's money you want, then I can wire you some after this is all over," the hyena assured the rabbit. _I have to pay Wolfgang anyways…_ she sighed to herself.

"I don't want your money," Judy sighed. "I'd just like to know what the hell is going on. I have some idea, but it'd be great to hear the whole story."

The hyena blinked a few times. "I can't tell you," she shook her head. "It's-"

"Let me guess, classified?" Judy cut the hyena off. "You have me trying to track down a teammate of yours, but you won't even tell me who you are, or what you do. There's a group of hyena mercenaries in _my_ city, trying to kill its mayor, and I don't know why!"

"You're on a need-to-know basis."

"Blank, please," the rabbit pleaded, setting the letter back on the coffee table, still crumpled up. She hadn't even looked at it.

"What did you say?"

"I said please," the rabbit repeated with a sigh.

"No, before that," Blank waved her paw. "Why did you call me that?"

"Blank? Oh, right, I forgot to mention this, but we named you. You ended your letters with a blank space so we took to calling you such," Judy explained, not realizing the hyena had frozen up.

The newly christened Blank stared at Judy, her eye occasionally twitching, as she struggled to say something. Judy eventually waved her paw in front of Blank, saying, "Hello? Earth to crazy hyena." Which got a good snort out of the wolf sitting at the computer.

The hyena shook her head and blinked the confusion from her eyes. "You… you named me?" she asked, her voice surprisingly quiet and soft. A quality that Judy had not heard from her before.

"Yeah," the rabbit said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I wasn't just gonna call you 'hyena' or 'that stalker' when referring to you in conversation. So I gave you a name. Unless… you want me to call you something else."

"No! No… Blank is fine… great, actually," the hyena said. "Thank you… I've never had a name before."

"Yeah, well, Nick told me as much," Judy gave Blank a wide smile. "So, you're welcome."

Blank was silent for a moment before eventually letting out a sigh. "You want to know the whole story, do you?" she asked.

Judy's ears perked up immediately. "Yes, yes I do," she nodded.

"As I told you before… I am part of a military black-ops team named BLACKOUT. Two weeks ago, we returned from a mission in another country, the content of said mission being without question, classified, and returned to a semi-normal life as we waited for new orders. Unfortunately, a few days ago, I discovered that a band of mercenary hyenas have entered the city and killed one of my comrades," Blank explained. "Knowing this to be an immediate threat, I attempted to explain to my commanding officer, your mayor, that his city had been invaded by a malicious force. He didn't listen to me."

Judy blinked a few times. "Lionheart didn't listen?" she asked. "Even after one of his soldiers was killed in his own apartment?"

"No, he didn't. It wasn't until 'Howard Tuskly,' my second comrade, was killed did he decide that there was an actual threat," Blank growled. "And mobilized the police force to take care of it."

"Not you?"

"No. I'll admit that… the hyenas in question are related to me in one way or the other. But it's not like I won't be able to kill them if he orders me to," Blank sighed. "In any case, I still haven't received new orders, despite Lionheart being attacked the other day."

"So… basically, by coming to me, you're going rogue?" Judy asked.

"Not exactly. I'm just trying to find my third comrade to warn him that the mercenaries are coming. And maybe to regroup with him to formulate some sort of counter-attack," the hyena shrugged. "Nothing wrong with that."

"Whatever you say," Judy sighed, picking up the crumpled letter and smoothing it out. "Is there anything you can tell me about your teammate that might help me in looking through this letter?"

"He's our squad leader, a wolverine we call X," Blank replied, leaning back in her chair.

"I thought you guys don't have names," Judy looked up from the piece of paper to smirk at the hyena.

"The squad leaders are all given letter to go by, which is supposed to make staying contact with them easier," Blank grumbled.

The rabbit blinked a few times. "So there are other squads like yours?" she asked. It was absolutely fascinating, sitting just across a coffee table from a mammal who knew every single secret Zootopia had.

"A few. I've only ever been in contact with one other squad, but they all serve different purposes, or so I'm told," the hyena explained. "I can't tell you too much, because the squads are usually kept secret from each other, that way if one of us is captured, we don't have reliable information to hand out."

"Smart," Judy mumbled as she went back to the letter. _Or maybe she doesn't know every single secret,_ she sighed internally. So much for getting as much information as possible. "So… who is that wolf sitting at the computer?" she eventually asked. If the letter was a hidden code of some sort, she had no idea what to look for.

"His name is-" the hyena tried to say, but was cut off by the white wolf clearing his throat loudly. "You can just call him W…" Blank grumbled. "He's an associate of mine."

"Is he another squad leader?" Judy asked.

"No, he has a real name like any normal mammal. He just doesn't want you to know what it is," Blank sighed.

"Why? Does he expect me to recognize the name?" Judy asked.

"Yes. And for good reason," the hyena smirked.

"Okay, enough about me!" the white wolf interjected loudly. "I thought I said…"

"I remember what you said," Blank smirked. "I've just elected to ignore it."

"Right…" Judy mumbled as she watched the hyena stare at the wolf. _Why would he be worried that I'd recognize him?_ she wondered. _Unless…_ "Oh! I know you, you're Wolfard's cousin!" the rabbit exclaimed as she turned around to face the wolf.

Now it all made sense. Wolfard talked a lot about his cousin and the computer genius that he was, and although Judy had never met the white wolf before, she had a pretty good idea what he looked like. Which also meant she knew where she was, as Wolfgang, according to Wolfard, never left his apartment.

There was a small apartment complex near the heart of Zootopia called the _Golden Fox Burrows_. It was a gated complex, and Wolfard had explained how he had never seen anyone entering or exiting the complex other than himself. Most just assumed the apartments were for the super-rich, but Wolfard had mentioned that it often seemed like his cousin was the only one who actually lived there. The fact that the complex was a black site made a lot of sense, clearly it was an asset containment site. For only one asset. Wolfgang Fritz, computer wizard extraordinaire.

A panicked expression crossed the wolf's face when he realized he'd been busted, before he let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine… you're right. I'm Gray's cousin. Please don't tell him I'm an 'associate' of hers," he said, pointing at Blank.

Judy nodded, though it felt wrong keeping a secret from a teammate. Though, she supposed, this was a family matter that she shouldn't even know about to begin with. "Ha! I knew I chose the right little bunny for this job," Blank grinned, pulling out another cigarette and lighting it in her mouth. Exhaling smoke again, she asked, "How are ya coming on the letter?"

"Not good," Judy sighed, turning back to face the hyena. "I'm… I'm not sure if this is code or not."

"What do you mean?" Blank asked. "Of course it's a code, what else could it be?" She crossed her arms and glared at Judy, as if blaming the rabbit for wasting her time.

"Blank…" Judy trailed off, recognizing the classic signs of denial. "This is a suicide note."

"There's no way… _no way X would kill himself_ ," the hyena snarled. "All of us, all of us have a special chip in our heads that eliminate certain thoughts. Suicide is one of them. _We cannot kill ourselves!_ "

"What if the chip was turned off?" Judy asked. "You said you've been unable to track him, so you must've been trying to locate him with the chip. If you couldn't find him that way… then it must be off, right?"

Blank frowned as she considered the possibility that her comrade's chip had been turned off. "It doesn't make any sense… the chip isn't exactly something that can be turned on and off," she explained. "And the chip prevents us from tampering with it…"

"That doesn't mean someone else didn't turn it off. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it was an electromagnetic pulse or something," Judy said, trying to run through the different possibilities. But she had read through the letter, doting on every word as if it could be code for something. But… it just seemed to be a simple suicide note.

Blank put her head in her paws, shaking her head. "No… he wouldn't have made a mistake like that," she mumbled. Judy watched the hyena stare at the floor for several seconds before something odd seemed to happen. Blank's eyes clouded over and she stopped muttering about how impossible it seemed.

Several more seconds passed before the hyena's eyes sharpened again. She looked up, glaring at the rabbit. "It would seem as if X is gone," she growled. "I'm sorry for wasting your time."

 _That was fast, for someone who had just been in denial a few seconds ago… could it have been the chip she talked about?_ Judy wondered to herself before shaking her head. "It's not your fault, and it's not over yet. We still have all those hyena mercenaries to deal with," she said.

" _I_ still have those hyenas to deal with. You're done here, you can go home," Blank sighed.

"So that's it? You led me on a scavenger hunt, gassed me, and brought me here just for you to say you don't need my help anymore?" the rabbit asked, crossing her arms. "My job is to protect and serve this city, and it's in danger. You're not gonna get rid of me so easily."

"I don't think you understand what you're up against," Blank hissed.

"Then why don't you explain it to me?"

"This is an extermination mission," Blank snarled. "Which means _no mercy._ I don't think you have the stomach for it!"

Judy immediately blanched at the word _extermination_. On one paw, she wanted to protest what the hyena had said, claiming that she did indeed have the stomach for what was essentially genocide. But she knew Blank would never believe it. So instead, she asked, "Why do they all have to die?"

"Told you ya didn't have the stomach for it," the hyena snorted. "They have to die because they are a threat to this city. If your job is to _protect and serve_ as you say, then you must understand. Even if you cannot go through with it yourself."

"But there are other options! What if-" Judy tried to say, only to be cut off by the hyena across from her.

"What if what?! We throw them in prison? What good will that do when they break out? Throw them out of the city? What good will that do when the _waltz_ right back in?" Blank hissed. "They are all dangerous, even more so when they operate as a single unit. There is no prison that can hold them, and there is no barrier they cannot break through. They must be dealt with."

Judy was silent for several seconds, trying to find some rational answer. Just because they were dangerous, doesn't mean they deserved to die. Or at least, that's what she hoped. "M-maybe some sort of shock collar," she muttered. "That electrocuted them every time they got a violent impulse."

"What kind of life would that be? They'd beg for death if we did that to them."

"What about that chip in your head. Maybe-"

" _No, Bunny Cop_ ," Blank growled. "No. There is no magical 'everyone gets along' solution. There's only death. For them or for us."

Judy ground her teeth together for a few seconds, trying to think of something else. "But… you said they were your family. How could you kill them?" she asked, hoping that she would strike some nerve within the hyena.

"It doesn't matter who they are," the hyena affirmed. "They must die." At that declaration, Judy slumped back onto the couch, utterly defeated. There was no stopping Blank. _How am I supposed to sit idly by and let her murder all those mammals?_ the rabbit wondered to herself.

Blank glared at Judy as she waited for the rabbit to come up with some other hopeful solution. But her ears flicked and she looked up when she heard a loud curse and Wolfgang slam his paw on his desk. "What? What is it?" she asked, leaping out of her seat and rushing over to the large computer.

"We've got hostiles," Wolfgang replied, gesturing to one of the many screens on the computer. Red blips were popping up all over the place, surrounding a square in the center of the screen. The apartment complex was surrounded, and they were converging on this location fast.

Judy felt her heart drop when she heard the word _hostiles_. That's all the hyenas were now. Enemies to be slaughtered. But she was caught in the middle of it. "That's not good," Blank observed casually. "What sort of defenses can you activate?"

"Uh… defenses?" Wolfgang asked, glancing up at the hyena.

"Defenses," Blank deadpanned. "You know… something that could help hold back the swarm?"

"Oh… no, this facility doesn't have anything like that," Wolfgang shook his head. "This isn't a military base, it's just an asset containment center…"

"Great, just great!" she growled. "You never installed anything?"

"I didn't want my cousin to accidentally trip anything while visiting… plus this is supposed to be a low-profile site… no one's supposed to know what it is," he explained.

"Wonderful. I guess we're doing this the old-fashioned way," she snarled, padding over to one of the walls. Pushing in a certain spot revealed a hidden door just like in the badger's apartment. "Suit up, we have to leave."

"They're in the escape tunnels…" he deadpanned, gesturing towards the screen again.

"Then we'll find another way out!" she growled before padding over to the chair she had been sitting on while addressing Judy. She grabbed her trench coat and threw it on. "Oi, are you feeling good enough to get moving? Because we aren't carrying you."

"I'm fine," Judy replied before sliding off the couch. She watched the hyena walk back over to the hidden closet and disappear into it. Seeing the laptop on the coffee table, she decided to grab it, hoping Blank didn't notice while too busy dealing with the oncoming crisis.

Wolfgang was grumbling to himself as he typed on the keyboard for a few seconds before his computer began sparking and short-circuiting. Once the screens went dark, he grumbled to himself, "Fucking waste of an excellent computer."

"You'll get a new one," Blank growled as she walked out of the closet holding what appeared to be an M60 machinegun. She was armed to the literal teeth, along with her machinegun she also carried two pistols strapped to her side and a shotgun slung around her back. "Come one, you too."

"Wha? Me? I'm not… a fighter…" Wolfgang muttered, putting a paw against his chest.

"Don't bullshit me, you're one of the best snipers in the world. Get off your ass and get ready to move. Because I'd estimate we have less than a minute before this place is overrun with highly dangerous, armed hyenas," Blank snarled.

"Great… _just_ what I wanted to do today," the white wolf grumbled as he adjusted his glasses and stood, before padding over to the closet and disappearing into it.

"So, uh… how are we getting out of here?" Judy asked, putting the laptop on the couch in an effort to hide it from the hyena. "With this so-called 'escape tunnel' already overwhelmed."

"Obviously we're going to be fighting our way out," Blank mumbled. "I'll create an opening while you and Wolfgang head towards the extraction point."

Judy looked away from the hyena as Wolfgang exited the closet sporting the same trench coat Blank did, except he lacked a flak jacket. At his side was a rather large-looking handgun, and slung across his shoulder was a very large sniper rifle. "I called B152 for the extraction," he said as he cracked his neck.

"Then let's get moving," Blank hissed as she headed straight towards the door, the white wolf behind her. Judy came in the back, grabbing the laptop on her way out.

XXX

 **So… this is actually a two-part chapter. You see… I've been working on this chapter for weeks, but I just couldn't finish it. I couldn't get the pacing right, I couldn't devote the time to sit down and find the problem, and the days were just flying right on by. So I decided to cut the chapter. It made the pacing so much better, and really fixed a lot of problems in this chapter. Not to mention the fact that now you don't have to read a 10k word chapter (or more). Plus, I wanted to get this chapter out on July 4** **th** **(obviously). Now… I'm not promising to get the next part out on Saturday like I usually do… because the last few times I made that promise, I didn't come through. So instead, I'll just say, stay tuned to find out what happens next!**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – Brother Mine:

Author's Note:

 **Wow, lots of guest reviews! I think last chapter was a rousing success, and has actually motivated me to work on this one as soon as possible (instead of taking the next day off like I usually do). And to actually release this chapter on Saturday! That's two chapters in one week… I haven't done that since I finished Weltschmerz! But before we get to this chapter, I have a few reviews I'd like to address.**

 **Meincraft, thank you for reviewing! I'd like to start by saying that I actually feel quite satisfied that you're worried I might shoot Judy. I don't know if you think I'm unpredictable or just downright heartless, but I'm not going to comfort you in any way. You're just gonna have to keep reading! And as for the 'off track' comment, I will reiterate (as I have said this a few times in a few different chapter's author's notes) everything will come together in the end. It just takes a bit of time. Sorry if you opened this story expecting one thing only to find the story seemingly sidetracking. By the way, I'd say that this chapter is** ** _about_** **halfway through the story. I don't have real arcs decided like I do for my other stories, but I'd say that we're approximately halfway through.**

 **USA Patriot, hello again! I'd like to first say: feel free to leave as long reviews as you want. I really like your reviews, and their length is nothing you should worry about. Moving on… really? You've never fired a gun before? I've used a BAR, but that's about it (and I've been in a few tanks). I've seen some of the YouTubers you mentioned while doing research for the weapons in this story, and I agree that they're pretty interesting. Because you gave your age away (and I mentioned my birthday last chapter), I'm twenty. By the way, I'm not particularly a fan of ZZ Top. I've never dry swallowed pills either, but I didn't want to interrupt flow by having Blank give Judy water. I tend to listen to really loud music through my headphones (Rammstein is one of my favorites, and Wolfgang was listening to that last chapter… I** ** _almost_** **put some lyrics of Mein Teil in the chapter, but decided against it). Okay, so, Judy doesn't get a rifle because Blank doesn't have one for her. Blank planned on getting Judy in, deciphering the letter, then getting her out before defending the facility. But… with Nick and the other officers interfering and the letter being fake really screwed with her plans. And Judy wouldn't be able to shoot anyone anyways (remember when she was unable to shoot Blank?). Lastly, I am** ** _well_** **aware that what most people call 'clips' are actually called 'magazines' but I hate using the same word over and over again, so I interchange them. Just a habit of mine. Sorry if that takes you out of the story.**

 **Wow, okay… part two of the last chapter! Who will live and who will die? Will Judy get shot? Only one way to find out… please, enjoy!**

XXX

She could feel her heart start to race as they rushed from the room that they had been staying in. The white wolf's home. She kept her ears pricked as she tried to determine where the enemies were coming from, but judging by how silent Blank's footfalls were, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to tell. So she instead concentrated on keeping up with the hyena and wolf ahead of her.

They were making rapid progress towards the back of the walled complex. She didn't ask questions, despite the obvious one of 'why aren't we heading towards the front gate?' A question she knew Blank wouldn't appreciate. The wall around the complex were about ten feet high. Much too tall for her little bunny legs to jump over, but Wolfgang looked like he'd be tall and strong enough to hoist both her and the hyena over with minimal effort.

Her ears swiveled when she heard the drone of a diesel truck get louder. She had heard the truck and assumed that it was just the regular hustle and bustle of the city outside of the facility, but it kept getting louder and louder. Until there was a loud _crash!_ The sounds of wooden boards breaking was momentarily louder than the rumble of the truck before squealing tires overtook everything else.

They had burst through the front gate in a rather large pickup truck, skidding to a halt in the center of the complex. There were at least ten of them packed in like sardines in the bed of the truck, not to mention the one driving. They carried a mix of submachineguns and shotguns, immediately training them on the fleeing trio of mammals, and opening fire.

Judy didn't wait for Blank's command of, " _Run!_ " as she had already booked it towards cover. They were out in the open, making a beeline towards the south wall, but there were buildings to the left and right of them. The rabbit made it into the shadow of the building on the left along with Wolfgang, but Blank ran towards the right building, cutting herself off from her allies.

Judy and Wolfgang made it into a breezeway carved into the building that had apartments lining both sides of the hallway. The building touched the outer wall of the complex, meaning the breezeway ended with a wall that went almost all the way to the top of the passageway. While Judy would be able to squeeze through the gap created by the wall, and Blank would be able to make it if she abandoned the flak jacket and her weapons, she knew that the massive white wolf would never be able to fit.

The SMG fire halted as targets disappeared from their view. The hyenas in the back of the truck began hopping out, keeping their weapons aimed at where they had saw their targets disappear to. The hyena in the cab of the truck hopped out as well, pulling out a pistol as he did. He motioned for the others to follow him, and began making their way towards the buildings.

But they didn't get far. Blank slid out of cover and opened fire with her M60, forcing them to scramble to get behind their truck for cover. The few that didn't make it were filled with lead, causing them to drop to the ground, writing in pain before they eventually died. As Blank supplied suppressing fire, doing her best to keep the hyenas pinned down, Judy looked up at Wolfgang. Even crouching, the white wolf was much, much taller than her. "What are we going to do now?" she asked loudly over the gunfire.

"We have to make a break towards the southern wall. The extraction point is two blocks from here," Wolfgang growled.

Judy nodded slowly and glanced out to check if the path was clear. But, to her surprise, she suddenly heard the subtle scratching of claws against concrete causing her ears to rotate behind her. Turning her head, she spotted a hyena squeezing through the gap between the top of the hallway and the wall, knife clutched in his teeth. "Wolfgang!" she cried out.

The white wolf whipped around and saw the hyena rushing towards them, knife in paw. Cursing loudly, Wolfgang stood and stepped aside just in time for the hyena's wild swing to miss. The hyena slipped slightly on the floor as he tried to turn around to reengage too quickly. Wolfgang grabbed his arm, twisting it to force the knife to clatter to the ground, before kicking the hyena away.

Stooping, grabbing the knife, and rising so fast that Judy nearly missed it, he threw the blade as hard as he could towards another hyena trying to squeeze through the gap. The blade turned over end to end until it became lodged in the hyena's forehead. Turning back to the other weaponless hyena, he pulled his firearm out of its holster, releasing the safety as he did, and put a hole in his target's head.

"They're coming over the walls!" Judy shouted as she glanced out of cover and saw dozens of other hyenas climbing the wall and rushing towards the two buildings, different weapons clutched in their paws. Many were wearing gasmasks or bandanas to hide their faces for one reason or the other.

"I can see that," Wolfgang snarled as he gestured towards Blank, who was still doing her best to mow down the swarm, though she was forced to duck in and out of cover to prevent being killed. Despite that, there were marks and holes over her flak jacket, showing where the vest had protected her from the small arms fire.

She was so focused on the swarm, that she didn't seem to notice the hyenas that were spilling into her cover from a similar gap in the hallway she was in. Grumbling, Wolfgang pulled the sniper rifle off his back and kneeled, taking aim at one of the hyenas advancing on her with a knife.

Blank whipped around when she heard the loud growling to see two hyenas coming towards her. She raised her machinegun, only to find that she had ran out of ammo. Cursing her luck, she prepared to fight the two without a gun, only for one of their heads to practically explode, sending blood and brain matter splattering across her face, as Wolfgang scored a headshot with his rifle.

Realizing what it meant before her opponent, Blank rolled to the side and hugged the wall, giving Wolfgang a clear shot. Which he took, killing the second threat in a similar fashion. Blank turned to grin at the white wolf, the only thanks he would get from her, before beginning the process of reloading the machinegun. Judy peaked out from cover again to see the approaching hyenas even closer. "We're never going to make it," she muttered, clutching the laptop against her chest, suddenly wondering why she grabbed it. It was only going to slow her down.

As if hearing the rabbit's lack of confidence from the other side of the complex, Blank finished reloading and sent a wink at the bunny cop, before pulling a familiar-looking canister from behind her back. "Flashbang," Wolfgang muttered as the hyena threw it into the clearing before looking away.

Wolfgang covered his eyes as the flashbang went off, before grabbing Judy and dashing forward. He threw his sniper rifle around his shoulder, not looking behind him as he heard the sounds of Blank's M60 beginning to fire again. Instead, he worried about the enemies in front of them. They were still pouring over the wall, from all directions. Although most of them were stunned by the grenade, Blank was practically surrounded.

But Blank would have to handle herself, holding off the enemies to the front, while Wolfgang and Judy fought their way through the back. Dropping Judy, the white wolf pulled his handgun from his side again and began picking off the hyenas who were just shaking off the effects of the flashbang, prioritizing the ones holding SMGs or shotguns. Judy followed behind him, still clutching the laptop, and not drawing her firearm.

This was madness! But she didn't have time to dote on the chaos and death happening around her, despite the smell becoming noticeable to her, even over the gunpowder scent. But as Wolfgang's weapon ran out of ammo, the slide stopping at the back of the pistol to signal such, every hyena began swarming them. She was immensely thankful that Wolfgang had been focusing on the armed enemies, they only had to deal with the ones wielding knives.

Grabbing Judy again, Wolfgang made another dash towards a different building, closer to the southern wall, and dove into cover. They ran as far as they could down the hall before opening one of the apartment room doors and rushing inside. Wolfgang slammed the door shut and locked it, before heading over to the table, setting his rifle on it. "Oh god, oh god, what're we gonna do!" Judy practically screamed, panicking at the thought of being killed. As it was suddenly a very real possibility.

"Calm down. Pay attention to the door. If they start coming through before I'm done, _then_ we're screwed," Wolfgang said, reloading a new magazine into his pistol before turning to his rifle.

"What are you doing?" Judy asked as she drew her gun and pointed it at the door. Thoughts of hesitation were thrown out the window. She had never been in a situation like this before, not even simulated. The academy didn't exactly prepare its students for this.

"Adapting to the battlefield," he muttered, pulling the bolt back on his rifle, causing the cartridge to come free from the chamber, before pulling out the rest of the ammo. He began fiddling with the barrel, twisting it, before bending it in on itself. To Judy's surprise, it seemed to come apart and fold inwards just fine. "It's a dual-purpose weapon, custom built. It can function as a sniper rifle… or a shotgun."

Judy barely heard him, as she was suddenly occupied by the beating on the door, as if someone was trying to break it down. Though the door looked like it was just made out of wood, the hyenas on the other side seemed to be having trouble, implying that it was likely reinforced by something other than wood. "Alright, get ready," she heard Wolfgang say as he stepped towards the door, pumping the "shotgun" as he did.

Steeling herself, she holstered her weapon, preferring to run while holding onto the laptop with both paws as she watched Wolfgang unlock the door and take two large steps backwards as the hyena who had been jiggling the handle finally pushing the door open. They stumbled over themselves as they all tried to enter the room at once, allowing Wolfgang to massacre all of them in just a few shots.

Judy flinched with each loud bang of the shotgun, hardly able to look as the shells made quick work of the intruding hyenas, splattering their blood all over the doorframe and entryway. Pushing the pump forward, Wolfgang quickly reloaded, before pumping the shotgun again. "Let's move," he growled coldly, padding over to the door, and pushing the corpses out of the way.

The rabbit grimaced as she stepped over the corpses, nearly tripping over an arm and falling onto one of them. She managed to find her balance, however, and follow the white wolf down the hallway. She could still hear Blank's machinegun firing, as well as loud yelps and screams as hyenas were hit or killed.

This time with Wolfgang's shotgun protecting them, they were making quick work towards the southern wall. Judy had no idea how many hyenas had died, or how many more were still swarming Blank, but there had to be a finite amount! _Maybe this is all just a trap Blank set for them,_ she thought to herself. It did make sense, as morbid as it was. Though she didn't particularly enjoy being a part of this.

"Climb on," Wolfgang said, breaking her train of thought. Looking up at the wolf, she saw that he was offering her a paw to climb onto. There was a lull in the combat, as hyenas had stopped climbing over the southern wall, and the ones still in the complex were all distracted with Blank. They had time to make it over the wall and escape.

Heaving a sigh of relief, she hopped onto Wolfgang's extended paw and let him set her on the top of the wall. Although the wall was easily ten feet tall, Wolfgang was at least seven, if not eight feet tall, and he had no trouble setting her on the concrete barricade. It was wide, at least two feet wide, allowing Judy to stand atop it comfortably as she waited for Wolfgang to grab his shotgun, which he had set down, and hoist himself over.

But as the wolf was bending down to retrieve his weapon, Judy spotted a hyena carrying a pistol approaching them and taking aim. Not knowing what else to do, she shouted out, " _Look out!_ "

The white wolf managed to look up just in time to see the hyena fire. But not at him, at Judy. The bullet impacted the rabbit, hitting her so hard that it launched her off the wall, falling to the other side. "You son of a bitch!" Wolfgang growled, brandishing his firearm at the hyena and fired before the other mammal even had time to point his weapon at the wolf.

The hyena yelped as the buckshot slammed into him, knocking the pistol out of his paws, and throwing him to the ground, splattering the grass with red. Rushing over to the hyena while pumping his shotgun, Wolfgang stepped on his opponent's chest and finished him off with a point-blank headshot.

"Fuck… she's gonna be pissed," he sighed as he glanced out towards Blank, still fighting the rest of the hyenas. He watched her toss aside her M60, he assumed she was out of ammo for that weapon, and dive into cover. He had half a mind to go and help her… but he was running low on shotgun shells, and he knew she wouldn't appreciate his help. And maybe Judy was still alive…

"She would rather die," he chuckled darkly to himself as he headed towards the wall again. The path now clear. He swung himself over and saw the rabbit on the ground not too far from where he landed. He rushed over to her with a concerned expression, shouting, "Are you alright, Judy?" He kneeled in the thick, jungle-like brush surrounding the southern part of the compound, creating a small barrier between the wall and the street that was barely visible through the vegetation.

Judy cringed as she sat up before sending a smirk towards Wolfgang. "I'm fine," she said, holding the laptop in front of her, showing that there was a bullet imbedded in it. "The landing hurt a bit though."

"Why the hell did you grab that thing?" Wolfgang asked, raising an eyebrow as he saw that she was safe. "Not to say I'm not glad you did."

"I dunno… just an impulse," Judy sighed. "Though I suppose I thought it would help me stay in contact with Blank in the future."

"Even after all this… you're afraid of her cutting you off?" he asked, cocking his head.

"I suppose so. Even… even after this, I don't want her running rampant in this city. I don't want to name her and disappoint her by saying her friend is dead and then just sit by and not help her," she said as she pushed herself off the ground.

"Well I'm not so sure. This is my home… and I haven't left this place in fifteen years," he said softly. He turned towards the extraction point and began walking towards it, Judy falling in behind him.

"You're not going to keep helping her?" she asked.

"No. She's paying me to begin with, but no amount of money can help me buy a new computer," he growled.

Judy's eyebrow arched when she heard his response. But her reply was lost on her tongue as her ears swiveled when she heard the sound of a branch snapping behind them. Wolfgang heard the snap too, causing him to whirl around, brandishing his shotgun as he did. "Don't move," he commanded as he spotted three hyenas that were trying to sneak up on them.

"Or what?" the middle hyena growled, fingering the trigger of his SMG. The two next to him were carrying knives, hoping to kill the two quietly at the same time without alerting the other one by firing the only gun between the two of them. Though they had been caught before they could make the stealth kills.

"What do you mean 'or what?'" Wolfgang growled, he too fingering the trigger on his shotgun. The hyenas growled, though none of them moved, none of them dropped their weapons. Wolfgang didn't move either, glaring at the group, searching for a way to get out of this Mexican standoff.

Before the hyena could respond, Judy, noticing that they were all staring at Wolfgang, pulled out her handgun and fired at the SMG toting hyena. She aimed for his kneecaps, not aiming to kill him. _My first time shooting at another mammal,_ she realized as she pulled the trigger.

Despite the small caliber round, the bullet slammed into the hyena, causing him to drop to his knees in pain, pulling the trigger of his weapon out of reflex. Though none of his bullets hit either Wolfgang or Judy as the hyena was no longer aiming properly. One of the bullets, however, hit his ally to his left on the shoulder.

With both of the hyenas hit, Wolfgang fired at the last hyena, the buckshot tearing through his target and knocking him off his feet. Rushing forward, the wolf slammed the butt of his gun on the still-standing, knife-wielding hyena, knocking him to the ground as well, before kicking the SMG carrying hyena in the stomach.

Judy rushed forward and grabbed the submachinegun that the hyena dropped from the sheer force of Wolfgang's kick. Wolfgang threw his shotgun over his shoulder and pulled out his sidearm, preparing to finish off the three hyenas.

"Wait!" Judy said, grabbing the white wolf's leg, preventing him from firing at the downed enemies.

"What?" he snarled, glaring at her, though his gun still pointed at one of the hyenas.

"There… there's been enough death today. Let's just take them in," she said, pulling two pairs of pawcuffs from her belt. "Besides… we could stand to question them. We need information, right?"

Wolfgang swallowed, knowing that Blank wouldn't be happy about this. But, he could see Judy's logic. As far as he knew, Blank didn't know anything about the mercenaries' location… maybe they _could_ use them. "Fine, but you only have two pawcuffs, so we only get to take two of them," he growled.

"That one you shot with the shotgun is probably already dead," Judy all but whispered.

Wolfgang fired a bullet at the buckshot-filled hyena's head, killing him if he wasn't already dead. "Alright, slap those cuffs on them," he said, holding down the first hyena and turning him over on his stomach. Judy helped him pull the hyena's paws behind his back before cuffing him, then doing the same with the other one.

Wolfgang holstered his pistol and pulled the two hyenas up, one of them limping from the bullet in his knee. Setting out towards the extraction point, Wolfgang kept a paw on both of their shoulders as he and Judy headed away from the back site and down the street.

The black site seemed to be in the middle of the city, cars filled the streets, going about their daily business despite the gunshots that were audible. _Are the streets really that violent that they don't notice the guns going off?_ Judy wondered to herself as they crossed the street. Though she figured that the mammals in the cars were listening to their radios. And the cars themselves were loud enough that even the pedestrians who were practically stampeding towards one place or another, as it seemed to be rush hour, couldn't hear the fight going on not too far away from the sidewalk.

And not to mention that Judy's hearing was much better than almost every other mammal, and she was _actively_ listening for the gunshots. Even though she and Wolfgang were making their way through the stampede, hardly any of the other mammals noticed them, or the two hyenas they were escorting. Even though Judy was wearing a badge, and police arrests usually drew _some_ attention. Everyone else was just too busy. Which was a good thing, in many ways.

Judy found that following Wolfgang into a crowd like this was preferable to following Nick, as Wolfgang was large enough that even the mammals glued to their phones could see him, and were doing their best to create a bubble around him so he could pass. Which gave Judy plenty of room to maneuver if one of the hyenas got free.

They eventually made it two blocks away from the complex, arriving at the extraction point. The extraction, as it turned out, was a large, black SUV parked on the street. Wolfgang walked right up to the car and knocked on the window a few times in what Judy assumed to be a code.

There was a pause before the tinted windows rolled down to reveal their getaway driver. "Chief Bogo?!" Judy exclaimed when she saw the caped buffalo at the wheel.

She saw Bogo glare at Wolfgang before turning back to give her a curt nod. "Yes, it's me Hopps," he said, a slight growl in the undertone of his voice.

Judy had so many questions, but knew that she didn't have time for all of them "We captured these two morons," Wolfgang said, shoving the two cuffed hyenas against the car. "And we want you to hold on to them for a while."

"Put them in the back," Bogo grunted, unlocking the doors. As Wolfgang began pushing the two hyenas into the back seats, Bogo turned back to Judy. "Get in, Hopps."

Judy nodded breathlessly as Wolfgang picked her up and let her climb into the car, landing on Bogo's lap, before jumping over to the passenger's seat. "I'm sorry B152, but I'm going back for Blank. Get her out of here," the white wolf said. "And see if you can get anything out of those two back there."

"Fine. But if she survives, tell her that I'm not helping again. No matter what she threatens me with," the caped buffalo growled, glaring at the wolf, before taking off.

Wolfgang stared at the black SUV driving off before letting out a sigh. _She definitely won't be happy about it,_ he muttered internally. He began turning his shotgun back into a sniper rifle before turning towards the black site again.

XXX

Blank lost sight of Wolfgang and Judy after the flashbang. She caught them running towards the southern wall out of the corner of her eye, but she stayed behind to protect their backs. She slaughtered the few hyenas disoriented by the flashbang that were too far from either building to hide behind.

Many of the hyenas had noticed the flashbang and had taken cover in front of one of the two buildings, or behind the truck if they couldn't reach either building. And now that the ringing in their ears had subsided, they were beginning to poke around the corner of the buildings and take potshots at Blank.

It was times like these that she was truly thankful for her flak jacket. The number of ricochets and bullets stopped by the armored plate inside the vest was a new record for her, and she would likely be dead many times over without it. But she figured she could be handling this situation better as well.

The hyenas were popping out around both building corners to shoot at her, and she could only focus on one corner at a time, hitting any hyenas too slow to react to her switching her fire over to them. It wasn't as if they were bad shots, no, just the opposite. They were aiming at her chest, the largest target on her, and were using SMGs and shotguns. Which weren't particularly accurate at the range they were firing at.

She switched corners again, spraying down the corner of the building she had taken cover behind. She hadn't strayed too far from her cover, but far enough where enemies from the corner on the building opposite of hers couldn't hit her without poking out from their cover. She scored a few hits on the hyenas poking around the corner of her building, one round managing to go through the neck of one of the only females she had seen in this battle.

Her neck burst open as the bullet passed through it, causing her to let out a hoarse, gurgled scream as she collapsed to the ground. The scream was cut off, however, as Blank sent a few more rounds in that direction, shattering the female hyena's skull and sending her brain matter splattering across the ground.

After being sure the female was dead, Blank switched targets to the other building's corner, slaughtering a few more hyenas as she emptied the last few rounds from the belt. She let out a low growl as the hyenas from the corner of her building popped out to fire at her again. They had been paying attention to her weapon, and heard the tell-tale click of an empty machinegun.

They rushed from cover, spraying as many SMG rounds towards her as they could before she pulled back into cover to reload. She let out a short hiss as a round nicked her ear, but otherwise, her flak jacket saved her again as round after round dinged off her vest or became stuck. There were still dozens upon dozens of them.

For each one she killed, three more came vaulting over the wall. It was like a never-ending wave of hyenas, and as she began reloading her M60, she received even more bad news. There were dozens and dozens of hyenas behind her. All of them charging towards her, wielding knives of some sort or the other.

But that's when she remembered something key. The hyenas were poorly equipped. Despite their high levels of training, and their specialization of only a few important skills, they didn't have many weapons. And for the weapons they did have, they didn't have a lot of ammunition.

 _Hopefully they're just about out of ammo,_ she grinned to herself as she spotted Wolfgang and Judy again, ducking into the southern building's breezeway, a large number of knife-wielding hyenas behind them. Glad that they were taking a bit of the pressure off her, she finished reloading, pulling the bolt back on the M60 to load the first round, and positioned herself so that she could shoot the hyenas charging from the south while remaining in cover from the hyenas coming from the north.

She opened fire, causing the large group of knife-wielding hyenas to scatter to avoid being slaughtered. Screams of hyenas being hit in the legs, forcing them to fall over, were nearly as loud as the machinegun Blank was using. She was aiming low and sweeping her weapon from left to right, trying to blow the legs out from under the hyenas, before silencing them as she swept her fire in the opposite direction, mowing them over.

Satisfied with the reduction of opponents, she took several steps backwards and hugged the opposite wall she had been leaning against. Her mind was working in overdrive, and her precaution paid off as a shotgun toting hyena slid into view and fired down _his_ right side of the hallway. However, Blank was on _her_ right side of the hallway, the southern wall of the breezeway, and pulled the trigger again.

The force of the bullets caused the hyena to stagger backwards and reveal even more targets for Blank to fire upon, forcing the group of hyenas to back off. She had been counting the number of rounds she had fired, however. And she knew there were only a hundred rounds left on this belt… and she didn't have any more.

She wasn't particularly worried about being able to continue fighting after she ran out of ammo, as she did have three other firearms with her, but the M60 was proving to be the most effective weapon in her small arsenal for dealing with the swarm of hyenas. Which were _still_ pouring into the compound over the walls.

In fact, as she noticed in the brief lull in combat, no one had tried to get behind her through the gap between the ceiling and the wall. Deciding that she could spare a glance, she looked behind her, only to see two hyenas squeezing through the gap, holding knives in their teeth. _Scratch that bit of luck,_ she muttered to herself.

Suddenly realizing how much danger she was in, she had to make a split-second decision as the two hyenas made it through the gap. If she turned around to fire at them, it would alert the hyenas around the corner that she wasn't paying attention to them, and they would overwhelm her. But if she didn't do something, she was going to be stabbed in the back.

Growling to herself, she took a few steps back once again, before dashing forwards as fast as she could, to the two knife-wielding hyenas' astonishment. Once she reached the entrance to the breezeway, however, she ducked down and _slid across the ground_ underneath the mass of hyenas' weapons.

Once again, she began firing the moment her enemies came into view, but the other hyenas were taken completely by surprise. They were aiming in the wrong place, and when Blank came into view, they fired reflexively, completely missing her. That gave Blank time to kill as many of them as she could, but she didn't stop moving. No, that would be suicide.

Instead, she kept moving, jumping back onto her feet as her slide lost momentum. She ran towards the building opposite of the one she had just taken cover in, not stopping firing at the mass of hyenas, who had finally managed to get their wits together and return fire. But it wasn't enough as many of them began running out of ammo and Blank made it to cover in the other building's breezeway.

But at a cost, as Blank was now out of ammo for her machinegun. Tossing the M60 aside, she pulled her shotgun off her back and glanced towards the southern wall, seeing Wolfgang making his way over. Heaving a sigh of relief that they were safe, she cracked her neck and prepared to fight the rest of the hyenas. Though she had a significant advantage in the form of a firearm, while most of them had just ran out of ammo.

Mentally counting down from three, she prepared to leap into combat. She dashed forward the moment she was ready and time once again seemed to slow down for her, as her perceptive eyes began scanning threats. Counting forty hostiles, almost all of them armed only with knives, only a few still holding pistols or the occasional shotgun, she took aim at the most immediate threat.

Which happened to be a hyena holding a shotgun mere feet in front of her. He had flinched ever so slightly when she rushed from her cover, implying that he was quite young and had only started training. _They brought everyone… even the children and pregnant mothers,_ Blank remembered as she pulled the trigger, erasing her opponent's head, killing him immediately.

Pumping her weapon, and cursing the fact that she hadn't thought to pick up a semiauto shotgun, she continued forwards, firing into the crowd of hyenas, doing her best to eliminate the ones holding firearms. _Pump… fire… pump… fire._

It was almost monotonous to her as her vision became covered in a deep haze as she allowed her training to take over. She was on a rampage, slaughtering her former clanmates with ease, the only break in her _pump fire_ routine was when one of her opponents got too close while she was still pumping the shotgun.

It required quick thinking, but she never missed a beat, blocking the knife heading towards her throat with the barrel of her gun, before stepping on the hyena's kneecap as hard as she could. The force from the blow shattered whatever unfortunate soul's knee happened to be within her range, causing them to drop to the ground in pain before she pumped the shotgun and finished him off. And then she moved on.

She would reload the shotgun with shells from her trench coat pockets when she had the chance between very short pauses in combat, caused by her opponents trying to regroup or scavenge weapons off the corpses littered across the complex grounds. She only had to retreat towards the breezeway in the western building once to do a full reload when the hyenas gave up scavenging and regrouping, and just decided to swarm her.

But it didn't matter, she easily got out of range, had time to reload, and jumped right back into combat. The swarm started to finally dwindle as reinforcements stopped climbing over the walls. Until this moment, she had been facing a relatively constant number of hyenas at once, as each one she killed was quickly replaced.

But she was running out of shells, only having eight left for fifteen hyenas. But that didn't stop her from rushing the few remaining enemies on the field, once again dropping into her _pump fire_ routine. She got lucky with a few shots, killing one and crippling another, but in the end, she still had five hyenas to deal with and no shotgun.

A fact that one hyena realized immediately, as he rushed towards Blank and swung his knife, preventing her from drawing her pistols to defend herself. She was forced to make do with the empty shotgun. She blocked his blade as she had done a few times before, with the barrel of her weapon, as she thought of a way to kill this hyena before the others overwhelmed her.

She gripped the forearm of her firearm as if she was going to pump it, but instead pulled hard on it, and swung the weapon in the opposite direction. This had two effects, for one thing, the pump of her shotgun broke off. For another, it caught her opponent off guard, forcing his knife to swing away from her. Quickly turning the shotgun around, Blank slammed the butt of the weapon into the stomach of knife-wielding hyena, causing him to drop his knife and double over.

Reacting immediately, she grabbed his upper jaw, prying it apart from his lower jaw, and jammed the barrel of her shotgun down his throat, which now fit easily without the pump. Pulling her fist back slightly, she slammed it down on the butt of her weapon, effectively impaling her opponent on the barrel of the shotgun.

He let out a gurgle of surprise, gagging on his own blood as he dropped to his knees, the shotgun keeping him propped up instead of letting him fall over. But Blank didn't have time to observe how long it took the hyena to die, as the other four were rapidly descending on her. Though they weren't in particularly tight group, which would serve as their downfall.

The first hyena's blade stopped mere centimeters from Blank's neck as she grabbed his wrist, stopping him from stabbing her in the throat. Twisting his arm and stepping towards him, she turned her hips, gathering momentum to slam her elbow into his muzzle. While there was an audible _cracking_ sound as her hit broke his jaw, it wouldn't kill him. Now inside his guard, she turned fully so that her back was to him, brought his arm over her shoulder, and brought it down hard.

His arm snapped at the elbow, causing him to drop his knife, which she ducked and caught before it hit the ground. Rising to her feet, she jammed the knife into the hyena's throat, before backing away from him and turning to her next opponent. The hyena barely knew what hit him, as he was still disoriented from Blank hitting him in the jaw hard enough to break it when a knife was lodged in his neck.

Blank's next opponent was a female hyena, which made the same mistake the last one did by immediately lunging for her throat. Blank once again grabbed her opponent's wrist, though this time she didn't go for the elbow move. This was a female in front of her, which meant she was considerably more dangerous than any other male on the battlefield.

Blank could count on outweighing every male hyena by twenty to forty pounds, and being larger than them by a good four inches, but this female in front of her was big. And she saw the same move Blank had done to the male not five seconds before. Blank wasn't confident in her ability to stun her opponent, or be able to best her in strength if she started struggling against the trench coat-wearing hyena's grip.

So Blank did the next best thing. Pushing the arm she had grabbed up, removing the knife from her throat, she kicked the female hyena as hard as she could in the groin. While not the same crippling effect it would have on a male, it achieved the desired results. The female keeled over with a short grunt, dropping the knife she was holding in her paw. The knife bounced harmlessly off Blank's shoulder, as it landed on its handle, before Blank grabbed the hyena's jaws and turned her head hard nearly one hundred and eighty degrees. Snapping her neck and killing her instantly.

 _Two to go,_ Blank sighed internally as she finally had time to draw her pistols, click the safeties off, and unload into the final two hyenas. Firing about half a dozen shots from each pistol, both hyenas went down, allowing Blank to _finally_ take a deep breath, and release a sigh of relief.

It was over. But she still spotted some movement from bodies on the ground, writhing in agony or trying to get up and keep fighting, she wasn't sure. But she approached them and finished them off nonetheless with a bullet through the skull. After finishing off the first barely struggling hyena, she holstered one of her pistols and reached into her flak jacket to pull out her cigarette pack.

Concentrating more on putting a cancer stick in her mouth, she kept walking around the compound, putting the last remaining hyenas out of their misery. She fumbled with her lighter, but eventually she managed to light her cigarette as she ended the last hyena's life. Inhaling deeply, she glanced over the facility to make sure she had gotten everyone.

Nodding in satisfaction, she released the empty magazine in her handgun, letting out a puff of smoke through her nose, and went to reload a new one. Only for something to come flying through the air, hitting the gun, and knocking it out of her paws. "My, my, my… you're not gonna live much longer if you keep smoking those," a distinctly male voice sounded from just behind her.

 _Another enemy?_ she growled internally as she whipped around, turning towards the southern wall, and pulled out her other handgun. Only for something to come flying through the air again and knock it out of her paw as well. That's when she got a good look at the hyena who had so easily disarmed her.

It was a _huge_ male hyena, nearly as large as Blank herself, standing barely ten meters away from her. He had managed to sneak up on her, and disarm her, both achievements in of themselves. Most unsettling, however, was that Blank _recognized_ this hyena. She only knew the faces of two hyenas, all the other ones she knew by smell only. And with scents of blood, death, and gunpowder in the air, she effectively could pretend like she didn't know any of the other hyenas.

But this one was different. "Getting rusty now, are we?" the male hyena taunted, putting his paws on his hips playfully. As if he didn't consider her a threat.

"What are you doing here?" Blank hissed as she lowered herself into a defensive position. She had no idea what he was going to do. He had grown a lot since the last time she had seen him, nearly _six_ years ago. And she had no idea what kind of weapon he was carrying.

"Oh come now, don't you remember?" he asked, cocking his head before reaching into his trench coat. He wore a very similar one as Blank's, just lacking the snakeskin pattern and the white skull on the back. She tensed as she thought he was drawing a gun, but instead he pulled out a little, bladed, metal disk. _A shuriken,_ she realized.

He had been throwing them so fast and accurately that she hadn't even known what they were. "We talked about this the last time I saw you," he chuckled, smirking widely. "I was just promoted to the Matriarch's guard. And she's ordered me to kill you… sister."

XXX

 **Boom! That's right,** ** _another_** **cliffhanger! As this chapter approached 8k words, I decided to split it** ** _again_** **. So look out for part three next week! Though, I do have a few things to say before I leave today.**

 **First off, for those of you who panicked when I did a fake-out with Judy's death and were just about to leave angry reviews (and for those of you still about to leave angry reviews because of it) I'd just like to apologize. I didn't expect to get so many reviews begging me to not shoot Judy and I would just like to say that I never intended to shoot her outright. But I did intend to do this little fake-out from the moment Judy grabbed the laptop last chapter. So please don't be mad at me. Be happy that I didn't shoot her! I just hope no one put this story down the moment it looked like she was shot…**

 **Second, I have just a** ** _few_** **things to say to USA Patriot before he reviews. I'm pretty sure that I didn't refer to any magazines as clips in this chapter (though I almost did out of spite). And I'm well aware that there's no such thing as a sniper rifle that can turn into a shotgun. At least not that I could find… if you know of one, I'd love to hear about it. But, if there isn't one, I do have a really good idea how it might work… though I'm not an artist… or a good drawer in any sense of the word… so I probably won't be able to provide you with a link where I can post a concept art… sorry.**

 **Lastly (and I know this is a long author's note), we're introduced to a strange character at the very end of the chapter! Obviously, he'll be important next chapter, but he claims to be Blank's brother?! Thus the reason for the title of the chapter. A few important things to note with him. First, he refers to another character known as the Matriarch. For those of you who know anything about hyena clan structure, you should be able to guess who the Matriarch is. And I did make a** ** _tiny_** **mistake in the last chapter. Allow me to explain: last chapter, Blank explained that she had just gotten back from deployment to another city a few weeks ago. What I** ** _forgot_** **to have her say (and what I didn't catch while I was editing) was that she went to the hyena's run-down mansion outside of the city. Seeing that no one was home (which was extremely concerning) she made it into the city to try and locate them… only to find her dead comrade, the raccoon. She was also supposed to mention that she hasn't been home in six years, so instead I had her "brother" mention it here. It isn't** ** _hugely_** **important, but it does imply one thing. There is a flashback coming up, with Blank in the center of it! It might be next chapter, it might not be… stay tuned for part three!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – One of Us Is Going Down:

Author's Note:

 **Wow… 100 reviews! Oh man, it's always so exciting to pass the hundred-mile mark. I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to review. This story has some of the best reviews of any of my stories, and they're always such a joy to read. And, on another note, this chapter also hits the 100k words mile mark as well! Lots of excitement all around!**

 **Before I talk a bit about this chapter, I'd like to address a few reviews. Meincraft, thank you for reviewing again! So the hyena army is not completely vanquished. Sure, Blank culled the swarm by a huge number last chapter, but they aren't done yet. Blank is technically related to almost all of them (it's difficult to tell how many). Cousins, uncles/aunts, grandparents, and even siblings as we found out last chapter, most of them were in some way related to her. And the ones who aren't related to her by blood, are by spirit, as the last of their species.**

 **That's definitely an impressive review, USA Patriot, thank you for leaving it! I kinda wish you had an account so I could just PM you, but alas, this will have to do. Where should I start… oh, okay. I've been inside a few different tanks because I know a guy, I didn't have to pay. I'd definitely recommend looking up Rammstein if you enjoy heavy metal, I listened to plenty while writing the last chapter (you gotta listen to something heavy while writing intense action scenes!). Judy was hesitant to even shoot someone in the kneecap, but she had no choice. I wonder if the situation is just going to keep escalating and escalating until Judy is forced to shoot to kill…**

 **Wolfgang shot the hyena again for the same reason Blank finished off all those hyenas after the battle was through. To kill them quickly so they didn't have to suffer. The impaling the hyena on the shotgun bit was something I came up with years ago, but never had an excuse to use until now. Blank is ruthless because she's a hyena, not because she's military. It was supposed to be a call back to when the hyenas impaled "Howard Tuskly" a few chapters ago. And don't worry about Blank and her brother's witty banter. There will be plenty before the two begin to fight. And yes, female hyenas are much bigger than their male counterparts… even the lowest ranked female hyena in a clan is higher ranking than the highest-ranking male.**

 **No problem about taking a bit longer to review. The length alone was well-worth the wait! And yes, Nick and Judy's teammates were, unbeknownst to them, fucking everything up. Thank you for not minding about me interchanging clip and magazine, by the way… I try not to do it, but sometimes clip sounds better and isn't repeating magazine over and over again. And, although I'm full of spite, I decided against spiting you. And yes, the puzzles are done, though there is still going to be a bit of mystery moving forward. And there will be plenty more gun battles to come!**

 **Man, so many good reviews! I'd love to address a few more, but I think I've overstayed my welcome. We have a story to get to! But I will make one note. I'm no longer going to be updating this every week. For those of you who don't read Immoral, or haven't looked at my bio recently, I've decided to start posting every other week, alternating between this and Immoral. For those of you who read both, you get to read something of mine every week! For those of you who only read this, I'm sorry that I don't have the time to post for both stories every week. At least this way it's fair. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

"She sent _you_ to kill me?" Blank asked, raising an eyebrow. She crossed her arms and left her defensive stance. To her, he wasn't a threat, and had no intention of treating him as a real adversary.

"Yeah… you got a problem with that?" he asked, frowning.

"No, no problem, I just thought she would've sent someone with actual skill," Blank chuckled. She didn't even flinch when a shuriken came flying through the air and embedded itself in her flak jacket. The armored plate inside halted the bladed disk before it could do any damage, but it hit her with an audible _thunk_.

"A lot has changed in the six years you were gone," he smirked. "I'm not some worthless loser anymore, following in your shadow. I made it onto the Matriarch's personal guard, sis!"

"And I just though the old bitch was going senile," Blank replied, shaking her head. "I mean, a male on the Matriarch's personal guard? The quality of her soldiers has degraded quite a bit."

"You're one to talk," he chuckled, putting his paws in his pockets as he did. He began walking towards her, but she stood her ground. "I mean, look at you! I don't think you've ever had to rely on that flak jacket this much before… and don't think I can't see that nick in your ear."

"I was outnumbered two hundred to one, I'd say it was hardly a fair fight," she huffed, glaring at the other hyena as he came to a stop a mere foot away from her.

"Is that an excuse I hear?" he grinned. "I thought you said a true warrior never gave excuses!"

"I also said a true warrior strikes _first!_ " she snarled, lashing out at the other hyena. The male cackled as he blocked the punch before countering with an uppercut. Blank, having already guessed what the male was going to do, dodged left, and struck again, aiming for his kidney. But he had already moved, and was already on _her_ side, aiming at _her_ kidney.

His punch managed to hit, causing her to stagger from the pain, and drop to the ground. She inadvertently dodged a left hook aimed at her face, forcing her opponent off balance as he had not predicted her falling to the ground. She kicked at him hard on the chest, launching him a few feet away onto his back.

She let out a snarl as she pushed herself off the ground, only to see him jumping upwards equally as quickly. _He's faster than I remember,_ she growled to herself, narrowing her eyes at her opponent. "Aw that's too bad… our little gambit didn't work," he pouted playfully, putting his paws on his hips.

"What gambit?" Blank growled.

"To wear you down, of course!" he smirked. "Do you really think we'd throw half our forces at you, poorly equip them so they didn't stand a chance, and think they'd just… _overrun you?_ Not a chance in hell!"

"What a waste," she snorted. Though she would never admit that she was becoming tired, the adrenaline was wearing off and her stamina was running low. The only reason she was still on her feet was due to her will, and the only reason she could still fight him was because of her rage. "To think… I slaughtered half my species, and I only drew you out of hiding."

"Indeed," he sighed, shaking his head. "I'm just glad my kids aren't old enough to have been brought into this. Otherwise… well, you'd have killed them too."

"Kids?" Blank asked, falling out of her stance once again. "You didn't have… kids…"

"Ever since I made the Matriarch's guard, I've been irresistible to the ladies," he grinned proudly. "I already have ten… and another two are already on the way."

"You must've started right after I left to already have so many…" Blank mumbled.

"Or multiple mates," he shrugged. "Like I said, I'm _very_ popular."

"I didn't peg you for polygamy," she snorted. "Then again, I never thought you would snag anyone."

"That's because _you_ were always the popular one," he snarled. "But after what _they did to you_ … and after you disappeared… everyone finally started looking at me. I was no longer in your shadow."

"That's nice, jackass," she rolled her eyes. "Blame me for everything, just like all the others."

"I don't blame you for anything, and neither does anyone else. But that doesn't change the fact that you're a traitor," he growled, cracking his neck. "That's why everyone hates you, sis."

"It's not like I had a choice," Blank sighed, before lowering herself into a stance. She was expecting him to launch more shuriken at her, so she was ready to dodge.

"No… you didn't," he muttered, reaching into his pockets again. "And that's why I'll grant you a quick death." His paws flew out of his pockets, both holding several bladed disks, before launching the shuriken at her.

Blank smirked to herself, happy that she had guessed his next move correctly, before dropping to the ground. The barrage of steel flew overhead, but he wasn't finished with her. She rolled to the side to doge the next volley, which slammed into the ground where she had just been not half a second ago. As she rolled, she grabbed a few of the knives the other hyenas had been wielding, before jumping to her feet. She kept moving, as another few throwing stars whizzed past her.

She ran around him in a ring, slowly inching closer to him with each pass. She threw knives as she went, some of them dinging off his shuriken, some of them forcing him to dodge out of the way, and closer to her. She had only grabbed a few knives, and quickly ran down to only one, which she held onto, deflecting the throwing stars aimed at her neck and head. She ignored the ones that impacted her flak jacket.

She eventually closed within paw-to-paw distance, where she lashed out with her knife, forcing him to react. He dropped the shuriken he was holding and grabbed her wrist, twisting it as he did. But she was prepared for that, as she wrenched him forwards, throwing him off balance, so she could knee him in the gut.

Her knee connected, hitting him hard enough that the air was forced from his lungs with an audible _whoosh._ He gasped in pain as he let go of her wrist and collapsed to his knees. Raising the knife and turning the blade downwards, she drove the knife into his neck.

Or at least, she would have, had he not intercepted the blade with his paw. The knife went straight through his flesh and bone, causing him to grunt in pain, but stopped mere inches from his face. Hissing in rage, he readjusted his stance on the ground, propping himself up with just his right arm, before kicking Blank as hard as he could in her stomach.

The flak jacket absorbed the majority of the blow, but it still caused her to lose her grip on the knife and fly a few feet away from him. She quickly rolled into a four-legged stance in time to see him wrench the blade out of his paw. A grimace was clear on his face, as the knife had twisted in his paw when he maneuvered to kick her away. "Is that the best you can do?" he taunted with a smirk, flicking the blade, sending droplets of red splattering across the grass.

Blank didn't respond as she watched him clench his injured paw a few times to test and see if it still worked. It did. _It won't slow him down enough,_ she growled internally. Glancing down to see more knives still within reach, she turned back to glare at him. She couldn't stand that damn smirk on his face, after all, it was _him_ who had just been injured. So she let out a feral growl in response, glaring at him as she did.

She very much looked like a wild animal, down on all fours and baring her teeth at him. He only shook his head with a sigh, closing his eyes in shame as he did. But that was what she was waiting for. With his guard momentarily lowered, she grabbed one of the knives and launched it at him.

His eyes snapped back open as he heard a loud _clang_ as the blade he was holding in his uninjured paw was torn from his grip. He turned back to see Blank launching herself forwards, quickly rising onto two feet, gripping another knife in her paw. He barely had enough time to duck as she swung wildly at his neck.

He stood, his momentum carrying a violent uppercut, which she leaned away from. She lashed out at him again with the knife, forcing him back long enough for her to put the weapon in her dominant paw, and attempt to slash at him again. This time he was ready, as in that tiny second, he had managed to gather his thoughts and focus on the battle again.

He caught her wrist as easily as he had the first time, though this time he swung around with his other paw, blocking her counterattack with his elbow, before gripping her paw with his, trying to peel her fingers away from the grip of the knife. Realizing what he was trying to do, she clasped the hilt harder, but it distracted her long enough for him to step into her guard and ram her with his shoulder. She staggered backwards, the knife slipping from her grip as she did.

Now that he was holding the weapon, he reversed his grip and stepped forward to reengage her, slashing at her as he did. The duo traded dozens of blows in under a minute, the knife swapping owners several times in the short span of time. It was a deadlock, neither of them good enough to keep the blade for more than a few seconds, and their stubbornness kept them locked in combat.

Finally, Blank had the knife again, and was slashing at him once more when he caught her wrist in the same maneuver that had won him the knife the first time. But as his other paw came around to try and pry her fingers away, she caught his arm, instead of trying to hit him. Now they were literally stuck, both of them grasping one of their opponent's wrists, and the other one stuck in the other's clutches. They struggled, trying to free their arms, but it was for naught, and both refused to let go of the other.

Panting in rage as they glared at each other, trying to decide how to settle this apparent stalemate, Blank's eyes widened as she saw his head moving backwards. Realizing what it meant, she to threw her head back, before launching it forwards at the same time as his. Their skulls collided in a vicious headbutt, both of their visions becoming blurry as they were forced to disengage.

They stumbled away from each other, desperately shaking their heads to clear it of stars. The male hyena recovered first, blinking his eyes rapidly to get rid of the fuzziness. He saw Blank practically on her knees, gripping her head and shaking furiously to try and regain her senses. Smirking through the pain, he reached down to a pouch on his belt and pulled out one of his larger throwing stars. Unlike the kind he had pulled from his trench coat pockets, which barely fit around his fingers, these ones were twice as big, and had curved, sickle-like blades that were much more aerodynamic than the smaller, blockier ones.

Unfortunately for him, Blank recovered only a second later, turning her head towards him once she did. Her eyes widened when she saw the barrage of steel heading towards her, forcing her to make a quick decision. Unable to move in time, she grabbed the bottom of her trench coat and held it up like a shield, covering her entire body, except for the paw holding it.

The male hyena grinned in triumph, as he thought she was doomed, but to his surprise, his shuriken began bouncing off the trench coat. What he wasn't aware of was the fact that the snakeskin pattern on Blank's coat wasn't just for show. The "scales" were actually metal plates, strong enough to deflect his throwing stars. While the scales were strong enough to hold out for a few seconds, the repeated strikes from the male hyena's larger shuriken eventually caused them to give away. Though, even when the stars began cutting into the coat, the tough fabric prevented them from actually harming Blank.

She sat there for a few seconds after he stopped throwing the bladed disks before swishing the coat behind her, tossing the few stars that had become embedded free from the fabric. Standing in one smooth motion, she turned to glare at the other hyena once again. "You're out of shuriken," she observed, almost casually.

"Perhaps," he panted. Throwing all those stars that fast had winded him slightly, but she still seemed unaffected by all the fighting she had done.

"And you're running low on stamina," she smirked. Spotting the knife they had been fighting over, she stooped over, and picked it up. Twirling it between her fingers, she approached him again.

"How are you not?" he growled, taking a step back. His paw was starting to hurt, his head was hurting, and he was getting tired. And yet, she wasn't stopping her advance. "You're a monster."

 _That_ got her to stop. She paused in her step and cocked her head at him. "Monster?" she asked. "Perhaps. Though… I prefer to think of myself more as a machine, I suppose," she shrugged. "The more I fight, the stronger I get. Any fatigue I felt when you ambushed me… is gone."

"That's not possible," he snarled. "That's just not possible."

"Fuck what's possible," she snarled, starting her approach again. "It's my fightin' spirit! I can go on _forever_."

"Fine," he sighed, taking a deep breath, and closing his eyes. He straightened his back and put his feet together before holding his paws up to his neck, palms down. His fingers separated by a small gap, he breathed out, his paws moving down his chest, as if he was _pushing_ the air from his lungs. He turned his paws around, palms up, and breathed in, his paws moving up his chest again. He did this several times as Blank came to a stop a foot away from him, eyebrow arched in curiosity.

Once he had breathed out for the fifth time, he opened his eyes. "Let me show you something I learned while you were gone," he growled. Holding his arms up in a cross in front of his face for a few seconds, he split them apart and entered another stance. Blank's eyes narrowed when she realized he had lowered himself in a martial arts stance, though she couldn't place the art.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, searching for weaknesses. Time ticked by, but eventually Blank held true to her mantra, and struck first. She lashed out with her knife, aiming for his neck. But her blade never reached him, as one of his paws came into contact with her wrist, though instead of gripping it as he had before, he pushed it out of the way, so the knife missed him. And he counterattacked, hitting her jaw seemingly at the same time he began moving the knife away from his throat.

She barely had time to comprehend what had happened before he roundhoused her across her muzzle, causing her to stagger backwards. He didn't let her catch a breath, however, as he leapt forward and hit her again, and again. She tried to fight back with her knife, but he once again redirected her strike and countered nearly instantly. This time instead of a roundhouse follow-up, he wrenched the knife from her fingers and tossed it aside.

 _He's defending while countering at the same time,_ Blank realized as she was finally able to roll away from him and take a breath. _He's even faster now. What the hell happened?_ Feeling her rage rising, she rushed forward again, this time unarmed. They traded blows with similar results, him redirecting her attacks while countering.

Deciding to try something different, she attempted to step on his kneecap, hoping to shatter it as she had done so many times to his fallen comrades. But he saw it coming and shifted his legs into a wider stance. Her foot hit the ground hard, sending a jolt up her leg, but she ignored the pain and kicked upwards, hoping to hit him in the groin.

But, once again, he saw it coming and bent, blocking her kick with his fist, before countering with an elbow to her gut. She coughed loudly, preventing her from hitting him back, as he turned in a tight circle before thrusting both of his palms against her chest, launching her backwards. She landed hard on her back, skidding a few feet away from where she hit the ground, before struggling to stand up.

She only made it to her knees when she saw him descending on her with another strike that might very well have been lethal. Except his ears flicked and he skirted to the side, halting his attack. Blank barely had time to raise an eyebrow before she heard the sound of a gun firing and a bullet hit the male hyena on the shoulder, throwing him to the ground.

He let out a low moan, but wouldn't stay down for long. Blank turned around to see sunlight glinting off a sniper scope, and Wolfgang pulling the bolt back to load another round into the chamber. Frustrated that she couldn't defeat her foe by herself, she could only watch as Wolfgang fired again.

The male hyena grabbed one of the many knives strewn around the battlefield and launched it towards the sniper sitting on the wall of the complex. The knife managed to hit Wolfgang's bullet, causing it to veer off course and hit the dirt, missing the male hyena. Not waiting for Wolfgang to pull the bolt back again, the male hyena jumped up to his feet and pulled another shuriken from his trench coat pockets.

Noticing that this was a different type of throwing star, Blank's eyes narrowed as he threw it hard on the ground, creating a puff of smoke. Wolfgang held his fire and instead slipped off the wall and began running towards Blank. She could only watch as the smoke cleared and saw the male hyena pulling himself over the wall.

He stopped briefly at the top of the wall to salute the wolf and female hyena, before slipping down the other side, disappearing just as Wolfgang caught up to Blank. The white wolf helped her up, giving her a concerned look as he did. "Shut up, don't say anything," Blank growled.

"I wasn't going to!" he protested immediately. "Just from what I saw, he beat your ass."

"I said: shut the fuck up," she snarled before snatching the sniper rifle from his paws, before he could sling it around his shoulder. "He took me by surprise."

"Well it looked like you were winning there for a minute… I only interfered when I thought he was going to kill you," he said, reluctantly surrendering his weapon.

"I guess I owe you," she snorted.

"Yeah, no shit," he chuckled. "What are you going to do with that?"

"I'm going after him, of course! Why the hell would I let him get away?" she asked, padding towards the wall.

"Hey, wait a moment…" he trailed off as she took off running towards the wall the male hyena had climbed over. _She's in her own little world,_ he growled internally. _How am I supposed to tell her I'm done helping if she won't stop and listen?_

"Get us a hotel room! Something that we can stay the night in before looking for a safer location!" she called out as she scaled the wall, despite holding onto the large sniper rifle. "Message me the details!"

And then she was gone, just like that. Wolfgang glared at the spot she had just occupied before letting out a loud sigh. _She has my favorite gun… I need to get that back before I leave her,_ he muttered to himself as he padded towards the exit of the compound. He would follow orders… but only until he got his gun back.

XXX

Judy sat silently next to Bogo as he drove them away from the black site. She fidgeted awkwardly in her seat, nervously checking behind her to see the two hyenas grumbling to themselves as they struggled against the pawcuffs. She had no idea where Bogo was taking them, as he drove right past the precinct without stopping.

The quiet minutes ticked by as they continued to drive further and further away from the precinct, until Bogo finally broke the silence. "You're awfully quiet, Hopps," he remarked as casually as he possibly could.

"Well there's not much to say," Judy replied immediately.

"Really? I would think you would have dozens, maybe hundreds of questions for me, Hopps," Bogo chuckled as he came to a halt at a red light. He glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure the hyenas were still secure, before looking back at the stoplight.

"Maybe I just don't want to know the answers to them," she shrugged. "And I have this feeling that you don't want to tell me either."

"Correct," he nodded, before stepping on the pedal and continuing to move forwards again. "Then again, whenever _she_ had a task for me to do, she always allowed me one question. So I guess it's fair if I give the same curtesy to you."

"We're calling her Blank," Judy said.

"Ah, so that's why Wolfgang was calling her that…"

"One question? Do you have to answer honestly?" she asked.

"Blank always did. Or at least, as far as I could tell," he replied.

"Well… I guess my only real question would be: how the hell did you get caught up with someone like Blank?" she asked, looking up at him, though he kept his eyes on the road.

"Of course, straight to the question I wanted to avoid most of all," Bogo snorted.

"If you want, I can…"

"No, don't. It's a story that I should probably share at least once. Especially since you could be in my position someday," he muttered as he came to another red light.

Judy blinked at him, trying to judge whether or not he was serious. _He's serious!_ she realized. "T-thank you, sir," she said, trying to not to sound too excited.

"You're welcome, Hopps," he chuckled. "But, onto my story. I wasn't always chief of police…"

" _No_ , you're kidding me!" Judy smirked, only for Bogo to send a short glare at her, before glancing back at the road. "Sorry, chief."

"Anyways, I went to the academy instead of college, and became a fully-fledged police officer barely a year after I got out of high school. I made detective quickly enough, not even five years after I became an officer. My partner and I were good, very good. But he was always better, and was on track to replace the police chief at the time, an old elephant that was rapidly reaching his retirement," he sighed, closing his eyes for just a second, as if to help himself remember.

"Who was your partner?" Judy asked, raising an eyebrow as she heard the beginning of his tale.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Bogo smirked. "Anyways, the chief assigned us to a rather complex murder case one day, one that had gotten the last team of detectives working on it killed. My partner and I worked on this case for a few days until we got an actual lead. Excited, we went to tell the chief, only to find out that the mayor himself had told him to drop the case."

"Isn't that obstruction of justice?" Judy asked.

"It is. It very much is. But we didn't listen to Lionheart. He had just been elected to his first term, and none of us were going to take him seriously, least of all the chief," he explained. "My partner and I tracked down the killer to a hotel room. We thought we were being cautious by calling backup, but in reality, we gave him time to take hostages."

Judy was practically on the edge of her seat as she listened to Bogo's story. "So, you had to do hostage negotiation?" she asked. Hostage negotiation was very rare, she had never had to deal with anything like that in her short time on the force.

"No… Lionheart tried to intervene again and call us off, and the chief got pissed. We got the killer on the phone and had a negotiator distract him while myself, my partner, and the chief made our way into the building. This was before the police were banned from even the six-foot rule on firearms, so my partner was packing. The idea was that we'd bust into the room, my partner would shoot to kill, and the chief and I would get the hostages out," Bogo explained.

"Things didn't go as planned, did it?" Judy said softly.

"Nope. We broke down the door and my partner yelled, 'freeze!' instead of firing like he was supposed to," Bogo sighed. "The perp didn't give us the same curtesy. To this day I still don't know what the hell kind of gun he was using, but that tiny little thing burrowed straight through the chief's skull, killing him instantly."

"Tiny?" she asked, cocking her head.

"Yeah, I'd say it was only a bit bigger than your gun," he replied.

"What species was the perp, then?"

"A rabbit buck… gray with black stripes," he said. "And I'll never forget his face either. After he killed the chief, my partner opened fire, and forced the buck to take cover so I could grab two of the hostages. My partner emptied his pistol and grabbed the last hostage, but the buck opened fire again."

"And your partner died?!" she asked, her mouth hanging open.

"No… no, thank god. The bullet only caught him on the leg, but it burrowed right through his leg bone," Bogo explained. "We managed to get the hostages out, but the buck escaped."

"Oh… okay… that doesn't really answer my question though," Judy said. "Of how you got involved with Blank."

"I'm getting there," he sighed. "After it was all over, my partner was put in the hospital and taken off active duty permanently. We were both worried that he was going to be fired, but it would be up to the next chief of police."

"Which was you," she observed.

"Yeah, but it didn't happen like I thought it would. See, my partner still had a shot, because the chief of police isn't usually on active duty anyways. So while he crossed his fingers, I went back to work on the case, even though I wasn't supposed to," he said. "Every single cop was pulled off duty for the chief's funeral, and wouldn't be put back on duty until the next chief was announced."

"So… you weren't supposed to be working? No cop was supposed to be working? Wouldn't that cause riots in the streets?" Judy asked.

"Even criminals have some level of respect for the dead," Bogo sighed. "I went to the hotel room we found the buck in, and he had left his phone. I took it and ran some traces on it, and I found a trail leading back to Lionheart."

Judy blinked a few times. "So that's why he was trying to obstruct the case," she realized. "He was covering for this buck. But why?"

"After I figured out that Lionheart and the buck were connected, I was going to tell everyone. The press, the cops, even the mayor himself… but it was too late. Lionheart found me first… and he gave me an offer… I couldn't refuse," he sighed.

"You aren't involved with Blank… you're involved with Lionheart," Judy realized.

"Indeed. He pulled some strings and made me chief of police. I was able to keep my partner working, and he doesn't mind his current job at all. In exchange, I became B152, and would keep the public in the dark about those 'squads' of his."

"That buck is on one of the squads, isn't he?" she realized. Bogo only grunted in response as he pulled the SUV into a parking space. Judy finally looked up to see where they had stopped, seeing that they were at the hospital. "What are we doing here?" she asked.

"The other members of your squad are still here," Bogo explained, glancing back at the hyenas to see they had given up struggling against the pawcuffs.

"What? Are they okay? What about Nick?!" she asked quickly, eyes wide in panic.

"Officer Wilde is fine, but he's the only one relatively unharmed," he said. "Summers is still nursing her broken arm, Wolfard has a minor concussion, Delgato has three broken ribs, and Fangmeyer is _still_ unconscious."

"Oh my god…" Judy muttered, putting a paw over her mouth. She had been knocked out nearly immediately, she hadn't seen what sort of damages Blank had done. "What now?" she asked softly, looking down at her feet. She was glad Nick was unharmed, but she felt incredibly guilty that the other mammals that had come to protect her had been severely injured.

"I have a new case for you and Wilde," Bogo said. "Well, 'new' in quotation marks. Because it's a case you're already familiar with."

"The Rodentia case," she realized. "Has there been new developments?"

"Unfortunately," he sighed. "We have another fifteen missing mammals. All within the span of the few days you had been assigned on that hyena case."

" _Fifteen?!_ " she all but shrieked in surprise. "And you didn't immediately reassign Nick and I to that case?"

"I'm afraid my hooves were tied," Bogo growled. "Blank wanted you on her case, and there was nothing I could say to sway her. And I knew I couldn't separate you and Wilde, as he would just ignore whatever case I gave him and helped you anyways."

"Well yeah… that sounds like something he would do," she muttered. "But you could've at least _told_ me that there had been more deaths!"

"I was under strict orders not to," he sighed. "Trust me, I wanted to. That's why I let you investigate the case on your own that first night without telling you to get some rest. But now that Blank got what she wanted, you and Wilde are free to continue where you left off."

She rubbed her temples as she tried to process what was happening. Fifteen more disappearances, most likely _murders_ , had gone under her radar. All because Bogo had prevented her from seeing them. "Well I suppose covering things up is your specialty, huh?" she grumbled, crossing her arms.

"No need to be hurtful," he rolled his eyes. "The updated casefile is in the glovebox. If I'm to understand, however, you _do_ have a lead?"

Judy opened the glovebox and, sure enough, found the casefile inside. She pulled it out and grabbed the laptop at her feet. "Yeah, we have a lead," she said, before opening the door and hopping out of the car.

"Right, then. I'll be taking these _lowlifes_ back to the precinct," he said before she shut the passenger's side door. And then he drove off. Judy turned towards the hospital with a deep breath before heading towards it. Hopefully, Nick hadn't been worrying _too_ hard about her…

XXX

 **Yes, there we go! Another chapter down, and the end of this three chapter 'arc.' We learn a lot of interesting little things here, and every little bit is important. So don't leave any stones unturned! Anyways, Blank 'loses' to her 'brother' and Judy is given the Rodentia case once again. I know a few of you were wondering when we'd get back to that, and I also know that the way it was presented here makes the last few chapters (… ten chapters) seem more like a detour than anything else, but I assure you, the pieces will line up. We aren't forgetting Blank or Wolfgang, or the hyenas! There's still lots of mystery to go around, and we still have a good half a story to get through!**

 **We learn quite a bit about Bogo this chapter! I wonder if any of you can guess who his partner was? Or the buck who attacked him (hint, he might be important later…)? So please, stay tuned until next time! Which, just to be absolutely sure you all understand, will be** ** _two_** **weeks from now!**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – I Want You:

Author's Note:

 **Unfortunately, I don't have a hell of a lot to say about this chapter. It's more of a cool-down chapter after all the fighting across the last three. Doesn't mean it won't be entertaining to read, but I do think we could all use a pallet cleanser. I don't have a lot to say about the reviews I got last chapter, but I'll throw a few things out anyways.**

 **Meincraft, thank you for reviewing! I'll be brief, but basically Blank's brother wasn't sure whether or not throwing half their forces at Blank would work, but he was hoping it would at least wear her down, as he knew she was too strong for him to face normally. It didn't work, of course, but considering how cruel hyenas are, even to their own forces, it was something that was worth trying (in his mind).**

 **USA Patriot, thank you for reviewing as well! Despite the length of your review, there isn't much there that I want to say. I'm happy you like the quotes from the last chapter, and although I guess you're correct that I'm saying, 'fuck what's possible' to anyone who complains about the unrealisticness of the story, but it wasn't my intention while writing it. By the way, yes, the way I imagine the sniper rifle/shotgun, it does have a conversion kit. Though it's small and probably fits in Wolfy's pocket.**

 **Anyways, that's all I have to say for the reviews. I'm surprised no one was able to guess who the chief's old partner was… I** ** _did_** **give the answer in a previous chapter, so if you really wanna know, you can go hunting for it.** ** _Finally, I should stress that this chapter contains an M rated scene, so viewer discretion is advised._** **Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Judy's ears fell, hanging heavily down her back as she passed through the doors of the hospital. She clutched the Rodentia case files in her paws, grinding her teeth together as she made her way into the building. So many more deaths, each one possibly avoidable, if not for the psychotic hyena interfering with her job. However, she supposed she shared the blame as well, if she hadn't so enthusiastically pursued the hyena, she could have focused on the Rodentia case instead.

"May I help you?" a concerned nurse asked, snapping Judy out of her thoughts. Looking around, she found that she had almost walked right into the front desk.

Shaking her head to clear it, she looked up at the nurse and said, "I'm looking for officer Wolfard's room." The nurse nodded in understanding and handed the rabbit a visitor's form, which she promptly filled out. After getting directions, Judy headed off towards the timber wolf's room, her ears still hanging down her back.

Wolfard's room was only a short elevator ride and a couple of hallways away from the nurse's desk, Judy reached it within minutes of talking to the nurse. She found Wolfard's room number with ease and hesitantly put her paw against the door. It was cracked open, signaling that there were likely other visitors or a doctor in the room. She didn't immediately walk into the room, unsure of how they would react to her sudden appearance.

But she eventually took a deep breath and pushed the door open, looking around the dimly lit room as the door shut behind her. The sight of an arctic wolf sitting next to a hospital bed met Judy's eyes first, the she-wolf's right arm in a sling. Charlotte winced as she adjusted the strap of her sling, before her eyes widened as they met Judy's.

Charlotte's mouth dropped open as she extended a finger to point at the rabbit, as if she couldn't believe Judy was actually standing right there. "Judy?" she asked hesitantly, still certain that she was mistaken.

Stepping a bit further into the light, and deeper into the room, Judy cleared her throat. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't force her ears up. The sight of Wolfard laying barely conscious in a hospital bed was incredibly demoralizing. "Hey Charlotte… how have you been?" she asked with a small smile.

That's when she noticed russet fur moving out of the corner of her eye. It was Nick, who had leapt from the chair near the door he had been sitting on, and rushed over to her. She hadn't noticed him when she walked in, and he hadn't noticed her, as his eyes had been locked onto Wolfard, guilt heavy on his face. But relief washed over his expression as he embraced Judy and held her close.

She noticed his breathing becoming shaky as he held her as close as he could without causing her pain. But she also noticed his fur was frazzled, there were dark bags underneath his bloodshot eyes, and he smelled rather bad. As if he hadn't showered in days, but she couldn't bring herself to push him away. "Nick, you look awful!" she exclaimed, though her voice was muffled as her mouth was pressed against his Pawaiin shirt.

"You've been gone three days," Charlotte stated with a happy smile, glad that Judy was back and seemed to be unharmed. "We were all really worried, but Nick hasn't slept, or eaten, or showered… or really even left this room in that time."

"Three… three days!" Judy said, pushing away from Nick to stare at Charlotte. "I just woke up a few hours ago!"

"Then that sleeping gas must've had you out for quite a while," Charlotte observed. "Are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?"

"My back aches a little bit, but that could be from the couch she had me sleeping on," Judy lied. In truth, her back hurt like a son of a bitch from where she had fallen off the wall and landed hard on the ground. _At least there isn't a bullet hole in me,_ she sighed to herself.

"We can get you some Advil when we get home, but I'm glad you're okay," Nick smiled happily as he pulled her close again, this time with the back of her head against his chest, so she could talk properly.

"So… if you're relatively unharmed, then what happened while Blank had you?" Charlotte asked, leaning forward on her seat a bit.

"Well, apparently I was asleep for most of it," Judy chuckled, only for the arctic wolf to give her a deadpanned look. "Right, well… she asked me to decipher a letter for her. That's all she wanted me for."

"Well that explains why she had us solving so many puzzles," Nick growled. "But really? A letter? Couldn't she have just given it to us and asked us to solve it without going through all those hoops?"

"Hold on, Nick," Charlotte grinned, holding up her paw. "I bet the letter had some juicy classified details in it. Maybe Judy isn't allowed to talk about it!"

"Well, uh… the letter itself wasn't juicy in the slightest. It was a suicide note," the rabbit shrugged. "But, I think the context behind who the letter was from is supposed to stay a secret…"

"Tell us, tell us!" Charlotte giggled, eyes glowing with mirth, despite Wolfard letting out a groan from the volume of her voice.

"I don't want to know," Nick growled before Judy could answer. "I don't want that crazy, psycho, hyena bitch to find out we know classified intel, and decide to take it personally."

Charlotte's ears folded back on her head as she looked down at the floor. "Yeah… uh, good point…" she muttered. "So… did anything else happen, or did she just let you go when she was done with you?"

Judy blinked a few times, unsure if she wanted to make her friends worried about the battle that had taken place only a couple dozen blocks away. "Well, yeah… she did sort of let me go," Judy shrugged.

"Sort of?" Nick raised an eyebrow, looking down at her with concern in his eyes. "Is there some other task she wants you to do?"

"No, nothing like that," the rabbit frowned, shaking her head. "In fact… I think she wants me to stay as far away from what's going on as possible."

"Well there's one thing we agree on," the fox growled as he hugged her a bit tighter. "I was worried about you, you know."

"What happened to ' _never let them see that they get to you?_ '" Judy managed a teasing smirk.

"Hey, I'm being serious," he grumbled. "I've never had a relationship like this before. And I thought that Blank might've killed you. I'm worried that it's _my_ fault you were taken like that, and that it's _my_ fault Wolfard and the others were hurt like they were."

"Well… I think Blank was going to take me to where she took me either way, whether or not you interfered. And, uh…" Judy trailed off, glancing at Charlotte. It wasn't her place to give forgiveness for what happened to other mammals.

"As I've said a thousand times, Nick, no one blames you for the decision you made to defend Judy," Charlotte rolled her eyes. "And in the end, you were right not to trust that psychopath."

"Thanks, Charlotte… but you're the only one who's forgiven me," Nick replied. "I won't be able to forget this until the others say something."

"Well, I think I speak for Wolfard, at least," Charlotte crossed her arms. "He's been giving me weird looks that I think mean 'I forgive him, please shut him up.'"

The fox let out a short chuckle. "Hey, speaking of everyone else, how is Fangmeyer doing? I heard he was still unconscious," Judy said.

"He is, but he's stable. He's doing better than Delgato, who has a punctured lung and is in surgery at the moment," Charlotte said, causing Nick to wince.

"Oh…" the rabbit muttered. "Well I certainly hope you'll give them my regards when they wake up. I don't know when we'll be able to get back here."

"Where are you going?" Charlotte asked, raising an eyebrow at the bunny. She would think Bogo would want Judy to at least go through some screening before he cleared her for duty.

"Bogo cleared us for duty and gave us the Rodentia case back," Judy frowned. "And Nick and I need to get working on it right away!"

"The Rodentia case?" Nick asked, looking down at Judy. "Now?"

"Yes, now!" she replied, putting her paws on her hips. "We need to get you into a clean uniform! Hopefully we'll be able to pound out a few hours on the case before we can clock out and get a good night's rest, so we can work a full shift tomorrow."

Nick stared at Judy as she began marching towards the door, determination in her steps. She was happy that her friends were okay, even if a few of them were still injured, but she didn't want to waste time. Not when there could be more deaths just around the corner. "No," Nick said, grabbing her shoulder before she could make it out the door.

"What?" the rabbit whirled around to glare at the fox. "What do you mean 'no?!'"

"I mean that we're not working today. Look, I'm happy that you're back and you're fine and you're ready to get back to work, but I think the case can wait until tomorrow," he said, putting his paws on his hips.

"No it can't! We need to make up for lost time," she protested, copying his action, and putting her paws on her hips.

"What lost time?" he demanded.

Judy ground her teeth together again. "There's been another fifteen disappearances," she growled. "And if our theory is right, then they're _murders,_ Nick. We can't just sit around and wait until tomorrow!"

"Judy…" Nick said softly. "I really don't think that it's a good idea to start working now. I'm exhausted, I smell bad, and I'm hungry."

"Then drink some coffee, put on some cologne, and eat a snack," Judy growled. "We aren't waiting a day on this!"

"I'm sorry, Judy, but I'm putting my foot down. You should be taking it easy after sleeping for three days. Not to mention the fact that I'm not the only one who's hungry," he shook his head as he heard her stomach growl loudly. "You are too. Let's just go home. The case will be waiting in the morning."

"What if there are more disappearances?" Judy protested.

"I doubt we'll be able to solve the case today. And although I hate to say it, there might be nothing we can do about it," he sighed. "You shouldn't push yourself, and tomorrow we'll be able to put a full twelve hours of effort into cracking the case."

"… Fine…" she relented. Even though she hated it, Nick was right. Unless she worked both of them to the bone, there was no way this case was being solved tonight. But hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for the both of them.

"Do you know what's really strange?" Nick asked as he followed her out of the hospital room and down the hall.

"What?" she sighed, not looking back at him. She was more focused with getting out of the hospital.

"You were asleep for three days, and you don't smell bad at all," he said.

"Your point?"

"Well, I haven't showered in three days and I smell awful… are you sure Blank didn't wash you while you were out?"

"… Oh god… maybe she did…"

XXX

The moment Judy stepped into Nick's apartment, all the exhaustion, hunger, and pain came crashing into her. She stepped into the room and headed towards the couch immediately. She slapped the Rodentia case file onto the coffee table before collapsing onto the couch, burying her face in the leather. "I guess coming back here was the right move, eh?" Nick chuckled as he headed into the kitchen to get her some Advil for her back.

She let out a muffled response, not looking up as she relaxed on the leather couch. She only moved when she felt Nick prod her shoulder and offer her the pain medication. She accepted it and popped the pills into her mouth, dry swallowing them before Nick could even show her the glass of water he had brought her.

"I'm going to take a shower real quick," the fox said, setting the glass down on the coffee table, before he headed towards his bathroom. "You might want to change into something more comfortable."

Judy only grunted in response. Once she heard the bathroom door shut and the water start, she rolled off the couch and headed into Nick's room to change clothes. She stripped off her uniform and her undergarments, before pulling a loose-fitting shirt over herself. She hesitated, but decided upon slipping on a rather short pair of gym shorts, instead of just opting for the shirt.

She padded back into the living room and grabbed the glass of water Nick left for her. She had no idea what was bothering her more, the fact that her back was still killing her, or the fact that her stomach hadn't stopped growling since she stepped into the apartment. _It knows it's getting food soon,_ she chuckled dryly to herself before clicking on the television.

She watched TV until she heard the bathroom door open. Turning her head slightly, she watched Nick walk into the living room with nothing but a towel around his waist, fur still dripping wet. "Nick!" she exclaimed, immediately adverting her eyes.

"What?" he asked, smirking ever so slightly.

"Put some clothes on!" she growled, refusing to even look at him. She didn't think they were far enough along to be wearing _only towels_ around each other.

"Do you really find my appearance so appalling that you can't even bring yourself to look?" he asked, smirk widening into a grin.

"Well, uh… just put some damn clothes on," she snarled, her ears turning slightly red. She didn't want to answer that question.

"Sheesh, don't bite my head off. I just came to ask if you wanted to go on that date," he said.

"Date?" she asked, finally looking back at him. Though her eyes remained firmly locked onto his.

"Yeah… remember before you were kidnapped by a crazy bitch? We were going to go on a date," he smiled. "I was thinking we could eat at a fancy restaurant and then maybe go on a walk through the park or something."

She blinked a few times, but responded with, "That sounds lovely, Nick, but I think tonight I'd rather keep it simple. We can go on that date any night, but I thought you were bone-dead tired, and that I should relax." She smirked at him and crossed her arms.

"Well, uh… I guess the idea of going out with you reinvigorated me," he grinned in return. "And a date isn't exactly hard work, it's dinner and a walk through the park, not a marathon."

"Still, I think I'd just like something you could make in a few minutes," she rolled her eyes. "I don't want to wait long on food."

"You know, you could've just made yourself a sandwich," he suggested.

"Well, I didn't want to intrude…"

"This is as much your apartment as it is mine," he chuckled. "There's no intruding going on here. Unless you think my sandwiches are somehow better than yours."

"No, it's okay, go get dressed. I'll make myself something," she shrugged, before sliding off the couch and walking towards the kitchen, being careful not to stare at him. He nodded and headed back to his room where he could put on some clothes. As much as he wanted to sit next to her in nothing but a towel for the rest of the day, he didn't want to upset her.

She found some peanutbutter and jelly and made herself a sandwich, being sure to put the materials she had used back where she found them when she was finished with them. She headed back towards the couch just as Nick exited his bedroom, wearing a simple pair of jeans and a ZPD t-shirt. She watched TV, occasionally glancing at him as he made himself a sandwich, before he plopped down right next to her and took a bite out of the ham sandwich he had made.

They ate in silence, watching TV as they did. It wasn't an awkward silence, no, it was comforting. Nick's apartment was so much more inviting than what she had woken up in this afternoon. _And the couch really makes a difference,_ she sighed internally as she set her plate on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch, stretching slowly.

Nick's ear flicked when he heard her let out a low groan from the mere act of stretching. "Was the couch you woke up on really that bad?" he asked.

"Yes," she grunted, finally finding a position she could be comfortable in as she waited for the Advil to kick in. " _Very_ bad."

Nick seemed to think for a moment as he finished his own sandwich, setting the plate on top of hers on the coffee table. "Turn around," he commanded, gesturing towards her to face towards the kitchen, so her back was towards him.

"Huh?" she asked, giving him a weird look.

"I said: turn around," he repeated, gesturing once more.

"Why?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

"Because I'm going to try and massage your back a bit. At least until the Advil kicks in," he said, holding up his paws and wiggling his fingers with a grin.

She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to find whatever trick he may have planned, but deciding that she needed the massage, she risked falling into his trap. "Fine," she sighed, turning around so that her back was to him. "But _only_ my back."

"Only your back," he nodded and lifted up her shirt a bit. She crossed her arms tightly across her chest, preventing him from removing her shirt entirely, or from getting an eyeful of her breasts. _Trap avoided,_ she thought to herself as he began his massage.

It didn't even take a minute for her to melt in his embrace. His paws were almost magic, as they rubbed and caressed her back, massaging out the stress and knots that had accumulated over the past few days. She became so relaxed in just a few minutes, that her arms dropped by her sides, allowing him to lift her shirt up higher, almost removing it entirely.

He couldn't help but glance at her chest as he continued the massage, rubbing her shoulders briefly, before descending down her back. He considered it his reward for giving her what he knew to be the best massage of her life. But he eventually helped her reposition so that she was lying flat facedown, covering up her breasts, and allowing him to gain more leverage to press harder onto the tricky knots in her lower back.

The massage only lasted twenty minutes, but to Judy, it felt like an hour before he finally let her sit up. "Wow…" she murmured. "That was amazing… where did you learn to do that?"

"You learn a lot on the streets," Nick grinned, pulling down her shirt before she even realized that she was flashing him. "It's a skill I haven't used in a while, however, so I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I _very_ much enjoyed it," she yawned, stretching again. This time with no pain.

"I think it's bedtime for the Bunny Cop," Nick smirked, though he'd be lying if he wasn't exhausted as well.

"Yup," she yawned again and laid down on the couch. "Carry me?" she asked, with a tired smirk.

"Always," he chuckled in return, picking her up, and carrying her into his room.

XXX

Flipping open her flip phone for what felt like the millionth time, she checked the text she had gotten from Wolfgang. Normally, she would be pissed about having to use up a burner phone for something so mundane as, 'finding the location of the hotel the white wolf had chosen,' but there was a bright side. The hyenas didn't have the technology to track cell phones, nor could the intercept communications. So at least she could keep her burner.

Affirming that this was indeed the right hotel, she marched into the lobby and headed past the desk, pretending there wasn't a huge sniper rifle slung across her back. Wolfgang had already given her the room number and a password to use, so she had no need to ask the front desk where her partner was. She made it to the elevator without anyone else even noticing her, but once she stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the sixth floor, the two other mammals standing behind her gave her weird looks.

Electing to ignore them, she was silent as the elevator made a stop on the third and fifth floors to let off the other two mammals. Despite the number of animals waiting for an elevator on those floors, none of them were brave enough to hop onto the elevator with the hyena. Not after they saw the sniper rifle.

Blank made it to the sixth floor easily enough, and headed down the hall to the room Wolfgang had booked, mentally rehearsing the password as she went. He had chosen a rather odd password, one that she wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but when she reached the door and knocked, she called out, "Shrek is love, Shrek is life."

It only took a minute for her to hear the locking mechanisms unlock and the door to open to reveal Wolfgang standing with a smug grin on his face. "Indeed it is, get in here," he said, giving her room to pass him by. He shut the door and locked it, following her into the room.

It was a nice room. It was huge, complete with a couch, although it didn't look too comfortable, a very large TV, and what looked to be a complete master bathroom. But there was only one problem. There was only a single bed in the room. Blank furrowed her eyebrows as she pulled the sniper rifle off her back and set it on the bed.

"Wow… this is fancy. How much is this costing you?" she asked, turning around to see him grabbing his sniper rifle and slinging it over his back.

"It's costing _you_ three grand per night," he growled, adjusting the strap on the sniper rifle so it fit more comfortably around his larger frame.

"Sure… fine, whatever," she rolled her eyes. "Why is there only one bed?"

"I got the honeymoon suite," he growled. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Well, we're going to have to fight over the bed," she said, crossing her arms.

"That's where you're wrong. I'm not staying here," he growled.

"What?" she asked, cocking her head as if she misheard him.

"I'm not staying."

"… Why?"

"I'm quitting, Blank!" the white wolf snarled. "I'm done helping you. Today was the _last_ straw!"

"I don't understand…" she said softly, absolutely confused.

"What don't you understand? That I lost my home of twenty years? Or that the literal _best_ computer in the world is now destroyed because of you? Or how about the fact that Judy _recognized me!_ What if my cousin, who, may I remind you, is a _cop_ , finds out what I do?" he growled. "Just in case it wasn't clear by my last few statements, I'm done, out, finished. I want nothing more to do with this."

Blank blinked several times, wracking her brain for reasons that he was wrong. In the end, the only thing she could think of was, "You can't leave. You can't quit."

"No, you see, that's where you're wrong," he smirked, adjusting his glasses. "I can leave whenever I fucking want, just like Bogo did. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

Her eye twitched a few times as she considered threatening him. "You can't go back to your place… it could be crawling with hyena reinforcements," she growled. "Where do you think you're going to go?"

"Anywhere but here," he shrugged. "I don't want anything to do with you anymore. And don't think you can threaten to kill me. We both know the Big Boss needs me way more than he needs you."

"Look… your apartment is undamaged. Once the hyenas clear out and once the cleaners sweep through the place, you can go back! Although I'm sure that computer was expensive, I can replace it! And I know Judy won't blab about your real job to your cousin, she's not like that!" Blank said, crossing her arms. "There, problem solved. Now will you quit your bitching?"

"No, problem _not_ solved! Lionheart is going to move me to a new, more secure place where he'll give me an old, shitty computer that can barely run windows XL, and I'll barely be allowed to do anything other than eat, sleep, and work," he snarled. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't leave. What's in it for me if I stay?"

"I'll… quadruple your price. Twenty million by Friday," she growled, grinding her teeth together. She knew that it was likely impossible, but she needed a partner. She needed at least _some_ help in what the coming days would hold. She was just one woman, and today proved that she wasn't going to be able to destroy her clan alone.

He only raised an eyebrow, realizing just as she did that it was an impossible feat. "I'm done, and this conversation is over," he growled, turning on his heel to walk away.

She stood there, trembling in rage as she did her absolute best not to leap at him and break his neck. _How… how dare he!_ she screamed internally as she watched him walk away. But he was right. There was nothing she could think of that would get him to stay. But maybe… "What would it take?" she sighed in defeat, looking down at the ground.

He halted in his step, but didn't turn around. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"What would it take to get you to stay and help me?" she asked. She couldn't help the bite in her tone, nor the fact that her paws were clenched into fists so tightly that her claws dug into her paw pads, drawing blood.

"Oh, for the love of… fine," Wolfgang growled, turning around to face her. "I want you." He knew it was a long shot, she would probably say 'no' like she always did when he joked about it. But now he was serious.

"Huh?" she asked, cocking her head, not entirely sure what he meant by that.

"You heard me. I want you, naked, on that bed. And if _that_ isn't clear enough, let me be as blunt as a fucking hammer. Sex, Blank, that's my price," he stated, crossing his arms as he waited for her usual denial.

"Why?" she asked, now unsure of what she should do. On the one paw, she needed his help. On the other… well, it was _Wolfgang_ , a longtime comrade of hers.

"What do you mean _why?_ " he growled. "I've been trying to get into your pants for years!"

"No, I mean… why _me_?" she corrected herself.

"What's more to be said? You're hot and a total badass, and I've been attracted to you for some time," he shrugged, before adjusting his glasses. "You asked 'name your price' and here it is. You, me, and a night of fucking."

"Ah… well… hmm…" she trailed off. "Let me… think for a few minutes…" she said softly as she sat down on the couch, furrowing her eyebrows again as she quickly became lost in thought.

"Sure," he said, sitting down on the bed. _Holy shit, I can't believe she's actually considering it!_ he cheered internally as he became distracted with an ocean painting hanging on one of the walls. _She must be desperate for a partner…_

She thought and thought and thought for well over ten minutes. But she couldn't think of a single reason not to say no. She glanced back at Wolfgang and let out a soft sigh. She needed a partner, and he wasn't exactly… bad-looking. Not an Adonis by any means… but certainly better than average. "Are you absolutely sure you can handle me?" she asked, drawing his attention away from the painting.

Wolfgang perked up immediately. _Did she really just ask that?_ he wondered to himself. "I know my way around," he promised, grinning slightly. "I can handle you."

She took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Fine. But if this turns out to be shit, then _you're_ gonna owe _me_ ," she growled standing up and padding over to the bed. "Help me take this fucking flak jacket off."

Wolfgang hopped onto his feet and took her jacket, folding it carefully and setting it on the floor, before helping her undo a few straps on the flak jacket. He helped her slip the flak jacket off and toss it onto her trench coat. She wasn't wearing an undershirt, or a bra, or anything else, just the flak jacket. Without it, her upper torso was completely bare to him.

As much as Wolfgang thought of her as a total badass, without the flak jacket covering her, she was beautiful. There were a few scars dotting her torso, but her breasts were absolutely flawless. No marks, no mars, almost as if no one had ever touched them before. Perhaps he had been _too_ caught up in the moment, as he impulsively leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, taking her by surprise.

She pushed him away and gave him a strange look. "Uh… what the fuck are you doing?" she asked, suppressing every urge in her body not to throw him across the room.

"Getting things started… is something wrong?" he asked, taking a step backwards in case she decided to hit him.

"Why did you kiss me?" she growled, narrowing her eyes.

"I… didn't want to treat you like a prostitute," he shrugged. "Can we continue?" he asked, suddenly concerned that he might've ruined his chances of getting any farther than this.

She sucked in a deep breath and shut her eyes, regaining control of herself. "I just… wasn't expecting you to do that, you should really ask before doing that," she sighed.

"Oh… okay. Uh… can I kiss you?" he asked nervously, taking a step forward when he was sure she wasn't going to attack him.

While her immediate reaction should've been, _abso-fucking-lutely not!_ Instead, she smirked at him and pulled him closer, saying, "Yeah, get over here," as she did. She grabbed the back of his head, ignoring his surprised reaction, and forced him to lean down so she could press her lips against his.

He eagerly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest, but not hard enough to make her feel like she should break his arm. She was making it rather difficult to proceed with caution, he definitely didn't want to make her angry. But he could feel her relaxing into the kiss, and figured that he was at least safe for the moment. So he pressed his lips a bit harder against hers, enjoying the feeling of her fur on his paw pads.

She pulled away from him three minutes later with a small grin on her face. He remained frozen in place as she slowly reached up and removed his glasses, tossing them onto the floor. "Hey… I need those," he smirked, not really caring about their fate. He could always get a new pair in the morning.

"You won't need them tonight," Blank grinned before fumbling with his shirt. Wolfgang let out a chuckle as he helped her pull the fabric barrier over his head. She tossed his shirt aside as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, pulling her into a tight hug once again. This time he could feel her breasts pressing against his bare chest.

Several more minutes ticked by as the duo got accustomed to the other, their paws roaming the other's fur, running over scars and muscles, just generally enjoying the feeling of each other. That was, until Wolfgang decided he wanted more, and picked the hyena up, carrying her over to the bed.

He set her down on the bed, pushing her over so she was on her back. She raised an eyebrow when he pulled away from her a bit to smirk at her. "What's so fucking funny?" she growled, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I never thought I'd be on top," he chuckled, his paws making their way down to her waist to take off her pants.

"You aren't," she grinned, kneeing him in the chest before wrapping her arms around his head, rolling him over and switching places with him. His surprise faded when she pinned him against the bed. "There, that's more like it," she chuckled at his expression.

"Yeah, this is more how I imagined it," he snorted.

"You've imagined this, have you?" she grinned as she drew her tongue across his muzzle.

"Well, after the number of times you've shot me down, imagining it was all I could do," he chuckled as he reached out to cup one of her breasts. She let out a soft gasp before sinking her teeth into his neck.

He let out a loud yelp as she drew blood, though her teeth didn't go deep enough to be anywhere near lethal. He gritted his teeth as she let go of his neck and gave him a sultry look, her teeth stained red. "I thought you said you could handle me," she grinned.

His eyes narrowed at hers. "You're not gonna bite my dick, are you?" he growled.

"I might," she smirked, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, before making her way down between his legs. She looked up and giggled at his horrified expression. "I'm kidding!" she grinned as she pulled his pants and boxers down at the same time, revealing his hardened length. Her eyes widened slightly as she let out a hum of approval.

He growled at her again, but it quickly faded into a hiss of pleasure as she dragged her tongue across his manhood. Although he knew she was just teasing him, he figured the bite on his neck may not be the only one on his body by the end of this. He let out a low groan as she ran her tongue across his shaft again, before he reached out and tried to grab the back of her head, but she only slapped his paws away.

Grumbling to himself, before hissing again, he realized that she was going to go at her own, infuriatingly slow pace. He could feel her claws digging into his thighs, though not enough to draw blood, as she continued to lick him. Groaning loudly, he relaxed on the bed, the dull throbbing in his neck slowly being replaced by the pleasure he was receiving from her.

 _He's a lot bigger than I thought he would be_ , Blank mumbled internally as she continued to work his manhood over with her tongue. Though, now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure why she hadn't expected this. He was over seven feet tall, she barely reached six.

But she eventually took a deep breath and pushed his tip between her lips. She ignored the groan that escaped his lips as his paws once again shot to her head. This time she let him grab the back of her head, but he didn't start pushing her down faster. To her surprise, he began scratching behind her ears, causing her to start purring as her nose touched his pelvis.

He gasped loudly as he felt his length disappear into her throat. She didn't start moving immediately, clearly adjusting to his size, as he continued to scratch behind her ears. But she eventually began bobbing her head slowly, pulling her lips back to his tip, before plunging back down until her nose hit his pelvis again. Each time she pulled back, she increased her speed, slowly bobbing her head faster and faster.

He tried thrusting into her mouth, but the moment he moved his hips, her claws dug into his thighs, drawing blood. _Okay, bad idea,_ he moaned internally as she continued to pleasure him. It only took a few minutes until she had reduced him to a panting mess, groaning loudly as he kept instinctually trying to push her deeper onto his length, only for him to be punished by her claws. She was in absolute control.

Or so she thought. She eventually pulled away from his manhood, strands of saliva hanging from her mouth as she did, which she didn't even bother to wipe away. One of her paws replaced her mouth, pumping up and down on his shaft, as her other paw began drawing bloody patterns in his fur. He glared at her as she shot him a smug grin, happy that he was already almost finished while she had yet to even lose her pants.

"You know, whenever I fantasized about this happening… there were always two different scenarios, depending on how _frustrated_ I was," he growled at her.

"Oh?" she asked, flicking her ear, but didn't stop either paw's movements.

"Yes… one was more realistic… it's what's happening right now," he said, his frown slowly beginning to change into a smirk. "But I think I always preferred the other one."

"Really now?" she deadpanned, moving her paws to his chest, and pushing him harder onto the bed, believing she was keeping him pinned. "What was that other fantasy of yours?"

"This," he smirked as he grabbed her arms and rolled over, pinning her underneath his weight. The look of surprise that crossed her face was priceless to him, and exactly what he had hoped she would look like. "You're a lot lighter than me, you know that?"

She growled at him, but was silenced as he leaned over and sunk his teeth in to her neck just like she had done to him. He wasn't expecting the loud moan that escaped her lips as he drew blood. He pulled away to give her a concerned look, but she only growled, "Don't you fucking _dare_ stop!"

"Oh, this is going to be even better than my dreams," Wolfgang grinned as he leaned over and bit her again, but didn't linger. He created a trail of kisses and rough nips all the way down to her breasts, where he latched onto one of her nipples. He bit into the sensitive nub, one paw groping her unoccupied breast, as the other paw dipped into her pants to find out she didn't wear panties. "Ooh, no bra _and_ no panties? I guess you take 'going commando' to a whole 'nother level, eh?"

"Bastard," she growled as she felt him rubbing her lower lips tauntingly slow. But she couldn't find the words to complain further, as he nipped her nipple again, causing her to moan out in pleasure. So she settled for running her claws down his back as he teased her, only succeeding in making him bite her harder.

He continued to toy with her for several minutes before he finally let go of her breast. "I think it's finally time we take those pants off you," he grinned as he unbuttoned them. She only growled something unintelligible, though it sounded suspiciously like, ' _I'm going to make you pay._ '

He only chuckled to himself as he went about his work, slowly slipping her pants down around her ankles so she could kick them off. His paws trailed back up her legs, until he got to her core again, where he inserted a single finger. He grinned at the gasp she let out, but pulled his finger out nearly immediately afterwards.

Blank blinked as her eyes focused on the finger he had thrusted into her face. "I'd say you're wet enough, yes?" he asked, still grinning. Realizing what he wanted her to do, she drew her tongue across his finger, cleaning it free from her juices.

"I'd say so, yes," she nodded, licking her lips clean once he pulled his finger away. Despite the fact that she was trapped under him, this was going better than she expected. And she couldn't lie and say she wasn't enjoying herself.

"Good, 'cause this is always my favorite part," he smirked before flipping her over. Her eyes widened in surprise as she was rolled over onto her stomach, her legs spread, and her ass hiked into the air. She felt him lining his manhood up with her entrance, but didn't have the time to protest as he rammed into her as hard as he could.

He knew she liked it rough, and he planned to deliver, not pulling any of his punches as he railed her as fast and as hard as he could right from the get-go. Loud moans and flesh slapping against flesh quickly filled the room as he fucked her. She had been taken by complete surprise, but it had only made the entire experience better. _I was definitely wrong about him,_ she moaned internally as he continued to pound her.

"This is even better than I had imagined," she didn't even notice him leaning over to whisper in her ear. She tried to respond to him, but found herself unable to speak as he latched onto her ear and began nipping on it hard. She could feel his weight pushing her harder into the couch, allowing her to lift her ass even higher, giving him a better angle to go even deeper inside of her.

She was loving this, the cacophony of moans leaving her mouth increasing in volume every second he fucked her. But she could feel her inevitable end approaching rapidly. She would later admit that this was the fastest orgasm any male had gotten her to, but at the moment all she could focus on was the burning sensation in her stomach quickly reaching a meltdown.

Wolfgang's ear flicked when he heard the scream that tore from her throat and realized what had just happened. Grinning in satisfaction, he rammed his length one last time into her core, knotting her as he did. They stayed in that position for nearly a minute, him just unloading into her, but he eventually collapsed onto his side, forcing her to do the same.

The loud moaning and slapping sounds filling the room quickly gave way to heavy panting from both Wolfgang and Blank. The hyena didn't protest as the wolf pulled her tighter against his chest, his knot still stuck inside of her. "So… how long is that thing going to stay inside of me?" she grunted.

"Oh… a half hour, maybe an hour," he shrugged, before shifting their position a bit so he could reach into the bedside table. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter before moving back so they were more comfortable. "Cigarette?" he asked, offering her the pack.

"Hell yeah," she grinned, taking one of the cancer sticks and letting him light it for her. He put one into his own mouth and lit it, before watching smoke curling from the hyena's nostrils.

"So… was it as good for you as it was for me?" he asked with a grin, exhaling smoke away from her.

"Don't talk," Blank growled.

"I thought as much," Wolfgang chuckled, before complying to her wishes and shutting up. But his paws began roaming around her body, groping her breasts, and leaving shallow scratches on her stomach.

"Careful," Blank smirked. "Or we'll be up all night."

"I'd be good with an all-nighter if you are," he shot back, before nipping at her neck again.

She seemed to think for a moment, smoke once again rising from her nostrils. "Fine," she eventually growled. "But _I'm_ topping this time!"

"Why am I not surprised?" he grinned, taking what was left of her cigarette and extinguishing it along with his in an ash tray on the bedside table, before slipping out of her. It was shaping up to be a long, pleasure-filled night.

XXX

 **Whew! That was a long sex scene, eh? One that I** ** _really_** **hesitated in actually putting into the story. For two reasons, really. One: this sex scene is a bit different than the last one in the story. Well… really different. For one thing, there's a bit of sadomasochism going on here that I was kinda worried might be a bit** ** _too much_** **for fanfiction. But I put it here anyways. I wanted to really show that this sex scene was different than the last, that way it wouldn't feel like you were reading the same thing over again with two different characters. And yeah, it was harder to write, because neither Wolfgang nor Blank are virgins like Charlotte and Wolfard were.**

 **The second reason would be because of the following conversation that I feel obliged to have with you all. For those of you who have yet to figure it out, hyenas are my favorite animal. As such, I happen to know a lot about them. And that includes a very interesting fact about female spotted hyena anatomy. Specifically the fact that female hyenas have something called a** ** _psuedopenis._** **Because of the remarkable amount of testosterone female cubs are given during development, it causes their clitorises to develop in such a way to mimic male penises. Of course, there are a number of advantages and disadvantages to this, but if you wish to find out more… I suggest doing your own research. But the point of me telling everyone this little factoid is to prevent those who already know from complaining about it in the reviews. I actually debated on whether or not I wanted Blank to be anatomically accurate, but considering hyenas have sex through this psuedopenis… I'm not sure Wolfgang would fit. So I scrapped it and went with this instead.**

 **By the way, if any of you are curious, I put Blank to be about six foot even, while Wolfgang towers over her at a frightening seven foot four (considering I estimate most wolves to be around six foot six (Charlotte) to six foot eight (Wolfard)… maybe six foot ten). Anyways, moving away from the lemon, we see Judy returning to Nick's apartment. Looks like the Rodentia case will have to wait for next chapter. Only two weeks to wait, folks. Stay tuned until then!**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – A Red Dawn:

Author's Note:

 **Wow, I don't think I've ever gotten so many reviews in one day before! Eleven the day after I posted the chapter… granted, not all of them were for chapter twenty, but that's not the point. Oh boy… and it looks like USA Patriot left** ** _two_** **sizable reviews! And I'm going to attempt to unpack them both… starting with your first one…**

 **Starting with the conversion kit… I was imaging Wolfy using custom rounds so he wouldn't have to change barrels, and I figured the sniper barrel was collapsible or foldable in some way that would create that… holding place for all the shells for the shotgun (I can't think of the name, sorry). Yeah, I think I did a decent job faking everyone out on who the lemon was gonna be between. Though… Nick and Judy will get their chance… don't you worry. It's understandable that you never saw Blank as attractive, she doesn't exactly flaunt her sexuality. Hopefully this means your perception of her has changed, and should make what happens next in the story more interesting. I'm glad you thought Wolfgang's decision of asking for sex instead of money was genius, I kinda thought so too. But as for why Wolfy has experience, I guess Tinder is a reasonable assumption. I would've gone with him sending requests to the Big Boss to send him "companions." But whatever floats your boat. You also make an excellent argument against the psuedopenis, I never considered that because most of the other mammals in Zootopia aren't anatomically correct, Blank doesn't have to be either. I knew that I was going to lose points on the lemon because of the blood, but I really wanted that lemon to be different from the first, and I kinda wanted Blank to have a kink. To be fair, though… when I first wrote it, there was a lot more biting and scratching, and a lot more blood.**

 **Deep breath… and for your second review, I'm glad you found the comedy. I knew the sex scene would be the center of attention, but at least a few people caught and commented on the comedy. The password is supposed to hint at Wolfgang's secret life as a meme lord. While I have seen the particular scene in Phineas and Ferb, the elevator scene is not based on that. Also, I noticed that grammar mistake as well after I posted the chapter. Unfortunately, lots of minor grammar and spelling mistakes slip through my detection… and I only catch them** ** _after_** **I post the chapter. As for school, I've been meaning to bring this up, thanks for reminding me. My semester starts on the twenty-eighth, and I will certainly be busy. I'll try and keep posting for one story every week, but I can't guarantee that this will keep to the 'every other week schedule.' Meaning… you could get a chapter on back to back weeks, or you could not see this story updated for a month. I don't know yet…**

 **Lastly, I'll be real quick with you Meincraft, but the injuries of the officers are as follows: Nick, unharmed; Charlotte, broken arm; Wolfard, concussion; Fangmeyer, concussion and still unconscious, possible coma; Delgato, broken ribs and punctured lung; and Judy, sore back from falling off the Black Site wall. Hope that helps.**

 **Alright, with that out of the way, I do have some good news! Because of storyboard difficulties with my other story, I have to take probably a week off in order to fix it… but while I'm fixing it, that doesn't mean I can't work on this story. Which means you'll get another chapter next week instead of having to wait two. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

The clouds eventually broke, revealing the sun rising above the horizon, casting fire through the sky. To all those that looked upon the dawn, saw only it's beauty, casting its light upon the city. But not her. She knew the truth. _A red sun rises… blood has been spill last night,_ she sighed internally.

And blood had indeed been spilled. Buckets and buckets, gallons, maybe more, covered the earth she walked on. Her footfalls caused sickening squelches wherever she treaded. She was on government ground, but it didn't feel like it. She felt like she was in a cemetery. A freshly-dug graveyard.

But her footsteps were not the only sound to be heard in this field of corpses. No, there was another. Loud wheezing drew her attention… one of the bodies was not yet dead. She made her way over to the body, taking her time. It wasn't moving any time soon.

She knelt down next to the fallen soldier, a male, she realized. One of his legs had been nearly blown off, and there were several holes in his chest. _They must've punctured his lung,_ she supposed. The soldier glared at her, gasping for air, struggling to say something. Though it didn't seem as if he could speak.

She stared at him for a few moments, her face not contorting into an expression of pity, rather, she remained emotionless as she considered what to do. It only took her a few seconds before she reached into an inner pocket of her suit jacket and pulled out a knife. The injured mammal's eyes widened as he spotted the knife, but he only kept glaring at her as she slowly and deliberately slipped the knife into his neck.

She twisted the blade as she watched the life die from his eyes, his wheezing eventually halting, before wrenching it free, splattering her white fur in red. Grumbling to herself, she pulled out a cloth from another pocket and began cleaning the blade, standing up as she did. Once the blade was clean, she inspected the steel. Nodding in satisfaction, she put the knife back in its sheath inside of her suit jacket, before folding the cloth and placing that inside of her pocket once more.

"Wait… this sunrise… I've seen it. Is this the past? Or is it happening now?" a voice, distinctly male's, sounded behind her, causing her to turn her head. "I remember… I remember. I've seen this dawn. That morning, the sky looked just like this. Every time I die, this is the vision that greets my eyes. And every time I think, 'How lovely that sunlight… which I forsook so many centuries ago.'"

She turned around completely to see a smirking buck trot towards her, paws behind his back. "Is that Shakespeare?" she asked.

"Not exactly," he grinned as he came to a stop just a few feet away from her. "You look lovely in red, by the way."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes, deciding not to press on what he was quoting. "Are the Cleaners here?"

"No, not yet. But the Boss knows SKY is on standby," he replied.

"Great," she grumbled. "The sooner they get here, the sooner we can leave."

"Aw, can't handle all the dead bodies?" the gray and black buck smirked.

"I don't happen to enjoy the smell," she replied. "My nose is better than yours."

"That's what you get for being a fox," he chuckled.

"You make it sound like I _have a choice_ ," she growled, crossing her arms.

"Fine, no sense of humor today, I see," he rolled his eyes and padded past her, kneeling next to the corpse she had just created.

"Do I ever have a sense of humor?" she growled, turning to face him, even though his back was to her.

"No, not really. I just thought maybe you felt like mixing today up a bit," he said, looking over the dead body. "Huh… she's sloppy, isn't she?"

"If by sloppy, you mean 'doesn't clean up her messes,' then yes," the vixen sighed, deciding to ignore his attempt at playful banter.

"No, that's messy. I mean she's sloppy… she didn't finish this one off," he said, glancing back at her. "Maybe this won't be so hard after all."

"I have a feeling she was interrupted before she could finish this one off," the vixen snorted. "And no, it doesn't make this mission any easier."

"Eh, I remain unconvinced," the buck smirked, standing up and walking away.

"We are surrounded by hundreds of dead enemy combatants, and you think because she missed _one_ , it makes our job easier?" the vixen growled.

"No, I think that because this _isn't_ a search and destroy mission, just a search mission, it makes our job easier," he said, bending down, and picking something off the blood-stained ground. "You're correct that we're surrounded by dead _enemy_ combatants… we're still on the same side. And judging from the mess she made here, it won't be long until we find her."

"I wouldn't be too sure about her being on our side. The Boss said she's a bit of a loose cannon. We should prepare for the worst," the vixen replied, taking a few steps closer to the buck to see what he was holding. _A shuriken,_ she realized.

"I'm choosing to remain positive," he chuckled. "Have you taken a look at the security tapes? I'm interested to see how this battle went down."

"I'm afraid we can't view the tapes," she sighed. "The asset fried his computer… shutting the cameras down before the battle even happened."

"What?" the buck growled, dropping the bloody shuriken, and whirling around. "Where is the asset?"

"He's AWOL," the vixen shrugged. "I tried to track him, but I couldn't pick up a signal on his tracker."

"He's… tampered with his tracker?"

"It appears so."

"Great. Great! Wonderful…" the gray and black buck growled, shoving his paws in his suit jacket pockets.

"J! J!" a new voice sounded, causing both the buck and the vixen to turn their heads to see a wolf rushing towards them.

"What, what is it?" the buck asked, removing his paws from his pockets.

"I found this in the asset's room," the wolf said, holding out his paw. The buck plucked a golden badge from the wolf's palm.

"A ZPD badge?" the vixen asked, before spotting her other teammate walking towards the trio. A lioness came to a stop and looked down at the buck.

"The Cleaners are here, sir," she said, to which the buck only waved her away. He didn't care about the cleaners right now.

"How did a ZPD badge get into the asset's room?" the vixen asked, trying to get the buck to say something. "Unless his cousin left it… but that badge…"

"Is much too small for a wolf to have left," the buck finished, holding the golden badge up so it reflected the sunlight onto the ground. "This is a rabbit officer's badge. And the ZPD only has _one_ rabbit officer."

"Shall we go return the badge, then?" the vixen asked.

"Yes," the buck smirked. "Judy Hopps needs this returned to her right away…"

XXX

Nick was the first to wake, before even the alarm on his phone went off. The fox let out a soft yawn, baring all his fangs. Blinking slowly, he looked down to see a bunny pressed against his chest. His memory slowly came back, along with a wide grin that spread across his face. She was back in his arms again. He had almost been afraid when he finally fell asleep, that her coming back was all a dream. But waking up next to her banished that nightmare to the back of his mind.

After three days of no sleep, he was surprised that he was awake so early, but he carefully untangled himself from Judy, without waking her. It was especially tricky, considering that she was holding his tail particularly tightly, but he eventually managed to roll out of bed. Sucking in a deep breath, he stretched until he felt his back pop.

He shut off the alarm on both his phone, and her phone, deciding to let her sleep in a bit. Even if she would be upset, she needed the rest. After all, she had just gone through a kidnapping, and they already had their case for the day. And they had a lead. The chief could give Judy an hour to sleep in.

He quietly grabbed a clean uniform and a towel and headed towards the shower. He showered, taking his time to wash himself. He didn't want Judy to complain about him not showering for a fourth day in a row.

He exited the shower with a soft smile, still seeing Judy asleep on his bed. He checked his phone to see that it was now eight. They were late, but he didn't care. He had breakfast to make. He searched his fridge and his cabinets, cursing the fact that he was running dry on food. But he managed to find a bit of pancake batter, just enough for two flapjacks. _Perfect,_ he grinned to himself and began making Judy pancakes. He would steal one or two of Clawhauser's donuts once he got to the precinct.

The scent of breakfast plus the lack of a warm body next to her was enough to wake Judy. She sat up, only to wince as her bruised and stiff back protested the movement. _Better bring painkillers with me,_ she sighed internally as she began her own morning ritual. She took a swift shower before slipping into a fresh uniform. Though there was something missing. Her badge.

Normally, her badge was present on her vest, the only part of her uniform other than her belt that she didn't wash. But when she went to polish it with the back of her paw, she discovered it was missing. She scoured her room, looking under the bed, inside drawers, and even underneath the mattress before she spread out and began searching the apartment.

"Is something wrong?" Nick asked as he slid the two pancakes he had made onto a plate. He set the plate onto the counter along with orange juice, butter, syrup, and utensils.

"Yeah, actually," Judy said as she hopped up onto a stool. "My badge is missing."

"Oh… sorry, I haven't seen it," he shrugged. "But I do have breakfast for you! Fresh off the skillet."

"Thanks, Nick," Judy grinned as she began buttering her pancakes. "Did you not make yourself anything?"

"I only had enough batter for you," he said as he made his way over to the living room. He found the remote and flicked on the television, before hunting for the news. He wanted to see if there was anything on Judy being found.

"Ah," Judy mumbled between bites of her breakfast. She wolfed down the fluffy cakes as quickly as she could, stuffing her cheeks before swallowing every few minutes. Like always, Nick's cooking was delicious. She climbed up onto the countertop and carried her dirty dishes over to the sink.

Nick watched out of the corner of his eye with an amused smile. She wasn't quite tall enough to reach the sink from the floor. The fact that she had to climb all over the counter was just… adorable. She paused as she was depositing her dishes before turning around with a glare. "Are you thinking that I'm cute again, Wilde?" she growled.

"You make it very difficult not to think that, Carrots," the fox smirked before turning back to the TV, finding the news as he did. Judy grumbled something unintelligible before hopping off the counter and padding over to the couch. She sat down next to him with a sigh, only for him to glance at her again. "What, no lecture, Fluff?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"I'd rather not waste my breath," she smirked. "You never listen anyways."

"Hey, I resent that," he grinned. "I listen occasionally."

She rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone to check how much time they had before they needed to be at the precinct. Her eyes widened the moment they landed on the time and her mouth dropped open. But no sound came out.

Nick wasn't paying attention to her mental breakdown next to him, as he was watching the news. A cheetah wearing a revealing dress stood in front of the city legislature building, holding a microphone. "In other breaking news, Mayor Lionheart just announced the new 'police protection act,'" the cheetah said.

Nick cocked his head as the picture of the cheetah changed to a field of death. Hundreds of hyenas lay slaughtered in a large courtyard. "After it was discovered that hundreds of murdered mammals were killed just yesterday, Mayor Lionheart introduced the police protection act, which removed previous restrictions on gun handling on the ZPD. If this new law passes, ZPD mammals under eight feet tall can now carry firearms," the voice of the cheetah came over the footage of the dead hyenas.

"J-Judy?" Nick asked, looking down at the rabbit, who was still staring at her phone. She didn't respond. "Judy!" he said a bit louder, hoping to break her out of her trance.

"Nick, did you let me sleep in?!" Judy exclaimed, looking up at the fox to glare at him. " _Did you make me late for work again?!_ "

He blinked for a moment before shaking his head. "Calm down, Carrots, it's not a big deal. You just got back from a kidnapping, you needed a bit more sleep. Besides, we already have our assignment, and a lead. We have plenty of time to crack the case today," he said calmly, hoping she wouldn't flip out on him.

Judy ground her teeth together before letting out a sigh. "Fine, whatever. But we need to get moving, now," she said.

"Hold on a moment, Fluff… look at the TV," Nick said, gesturing towards the screen hanging on the wall. "Do you happen to know why there are hundreds of dead hyenas on the news?"

"I… might…"

"I want an explanation, Judy."

"We don't have _time_ for an explanation! If you had woken me up on time, I would have time to tell you, but…"

"But if I had woken you up on time then we would've missed the news segment. I would still be blissfully unaware."

" _Nick_."

"Fine, Judy… but you're telling me while we head back to the Den of Fangs."

XXX

Wolfgang's eyes opened slowly as he let out a soft yawn. _Ah, I dozed off,_ he chuckled internally as he sat up slowly, ignoring the still bleeding wounds all over his body. They had gone all night, only taking breaks when they had to wait for his knot to deflate. It was definitely one of the best nights he had ever had.

But hours upon hours of sex eventually took their toll on the both of them. She had decided to call it quits and take a shower around six in the morning, while he drifted off to sleep. He checked the clock to see he had only slept for two hours, but it was enough rest to get him through the rest of the day. He cracked his neck before looking around, trying to find Blank.

And find her he did. She was sitting on the floor, surrounded by gun parts and bullets. She was still completely naked, pushing strange-looking bullets into a magazine, completely focused on her work. "You see, this is a sight I could get used to waking up to," he grinned.

She looked over at him with a small smirk. "Too bad that this was a one-time deal. I'll admit that you were fucking amazing, but I only agreed to one round. We went at least… six," she said. "So you owe me a few favors."

"Ah, but you loved it," Wolfgang said, rolling out of bed.

"Yes, I did," she nodded, not in the least bit reluctantly. "But I have a list of errands for you to run."

"Oh, yeah, no problem," he said, sitting down across from her, equally as naked as she was. There was a small barrier of gun parts between them. "What do you need?"

"Do you notice anything about the gun parts laying around?" Blank asked as she shoved another one of the strange bullets into the mag.

"Yeah… two pistols by the looks of it," he replied, glancing around, and reconstructing the weapons in his head.

"That plus your rifle slash shotgun is all the firepower we have right now," she said, picking up another bullet and rolling it between her thumb and forefinger. "Which isn't a lot."

"So… I'm guessing you need me to gather more weapons," he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Like I said, I have a list ready for you. Guns, ammo, the lot," she nodded, shoving the bullet into the mag and setting it down before picking up regular nine-millimeter round and began loading another magazine.

"What about those rounds?" Wolfgang asked, gesturing towards the magazine she had just set down. "Armor piercing rounds?"

"Not exactly," she said, smirking slightly as she continued loading the regular rounds. She finished quickly and began working on assembling the pistols.

"Not telling?" he asked.

"Nah. They're not on the list, 'cause you aren't gonna find these here in Zootopia," she smirked. "But let's just say they'll come in handy for my mission today."

"And what would your mission for today be?"

"I'm going back to the black site. I'm going to try and recover my M60. That thing's vintage, ya know," she chuckled.

"Oh. And… the reason you need firearms to do that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Big Boss is using my slaughter to advance his agenda," she growled, gesturing towards the TV behind Wolfgang. The white wolf turned around to see the television showing the news, the volume muted, but subtitles allowed the two mammals in the room to understand what was going on.

"I see…" he sighed. "Is it really a bad thing, though?"

"Depends," she shrugged. "It's not my call to make, though. What I can tell you is that he's not covering this incident up. He has another team on-site to make sure the camera crews are protected, and he's cleaning up the bodies the long way. This is insurance."

He watched as she held up a completed pistol, before screwing a silencer onto it. "Pretty good insurance, then," he chuckled.

"Yeah," she smirked. _We are still on the same side… after all,_ she sighed internally. "Anyways, I figure I can recover my laptop as well. You'll need something to work on while we use this as a temporary base."

"Oh, well if you want that laptop back, you'd be going in the wrong direction," Wolfgang chuckled. "Judy took the laptop. Man, you really were too distracted to notice."

"Oh… Judy has my laptop?" Blank growled, finishing the second firearm, and screwing a silencer onto that.

"Well… I think she left it with Bogo. Along with the prisoners she arrested," Wolfgang said.

"Prisoners?" Blank asked, ear flicking in annoyance. "What prisoners?"

"Oh right, I forgot to mention that Judy arrested two hyenas. I figured we'd need someone to interrogate…" he trailed off as he watched the hyena fume across from him.

"No… no… no! There were supposed to be _no_ prisoners!" she snarled, standing up in a single fluid motion.

"Why not?" he asked, cocking her head as she marched over to her combat gear and began dressing.

"Because," she growled, slipping her pants on. "My mission is not to _arrest them_."

"Mission? I thought you said you didn't have new orders," he asked, raising an eyebrow as she slipped her combat vest on. She grabbed her pistols and holstered them before pulling on her trench coat.

"I don't," she growled. He could only watch as she turned on her heel and padded towards the door, slamming it behind her before he could get another word in.

XXX

 **Whew! Lots of fun things in this chapter! So… hopefully this chapter isn't too confusing. If any of you have questions, please ask them in a review so I can do my best to clear up any misconceptions or confusions. Anyways, with that covered, we're introduced to a few new characters in the beginning of the chapter. I wonder if you all can guess who the fox and rabbit are supposed to be…**

 **I'm not entirely sure if I promised we'd get to the Rodentia case this chapter, but it didn't quite make the cut. But don't worry, it'll be showing up next chapter for sure! Well, at least Nick and Judy going back to the Den of Fangs. Whether or not that case will be cracked next chapter is still up in the air! We also learn that Blank is extremely unhappy that Judy took prisoners. I wonder what she plans to do? All that and more, next time!**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Pesky Fox:

Author's Note:

 **Okay, it seems I do have a few things to clear up. First off, I need to apologize for something. The Den of Fangs is not the name of the snake shop where Dr. Tavi works. It's actually just called** ** _The Pit_** **, when Nick said last chapter, 'Fine, Judy… but you're telling me while we head back to the Den of Fangs,' he wasn't using the name of the shop. It's just a call-back to the title of the story. Hope that clears up any misconceptions.**

 **The second thing I probably need to explain a bit better is SKY's mission. Basically, they're searching for Blank. Technically, they're on the same side (both Blank and the members of SKY are working for Lionheart), but Blank has gone rogue. You'll hopefully get a better understanding of how she's gone rogue after this chapter.**

 **There's only one review I would like to address, and that's Meincraft's. I already answered one of your questions above, but as for the rest: SKY knows about Blank because they were briefed on her. It can be assumed that they have never met in person before. Yes, they would fight Blank if she decides to be… uncooperative, or if she is proven to be a danger to the city. SKY is indeed highly dangerous, as you'll find more about in the upcoming chapters. Technically, they aren't 'going after Judy.' They're following up a lead. This is sort of my fault, but everyone who's worrying about Judy misread the first section of the last chapter. Maybe I didn't make it clear enough, but Judy (unless she's uncooperative) has nothing to fear. She and SKY are both on the same side, after all.**

 **With all that out of the way, we can finally get to the story! I do wish to say that the schedule that I've been doing my best to uphold is going to be completely tossed to the wind after this chapter. My semester is starting on Monday, and I'll likely be busy. I can't assure you that I'll be posting every other week (like I've said before), but what I will say is that I will continue to only post on Saturdays. So, for those guest reviewers who cannot follow this story, please continue to check in on Saturdays to see if I've posted a chapter or not. Thank you in advance, and please, enjoy!**

XXX

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nick asked softly as he pulled into the parking lot of the snake shop Dr. Tavi owned. He spotted the sign flashing dimly in the window saying 'open.' The drive towards _The Pit_ had been short, but informative for the fox.

"I'm sorry, Nick… but I didn't want to make you worry," Judy replied, hopping out of the police cruiser. "And I wasn't sure if I was _supposed_ to tell you. For all I knew, Lionheart would've covered it up, and I didn't want you to stress out about classified information."

"Alright, fine, Carrots, you're right. I'm glad you didn't give me something to stress over right after I was worried sick from your kidnapping," he chuckled. "But I'm glad you're unharmed."

"Well, I didn't really do any of the fighting," she replied. "It was all Blank. Though, I did help arrest two of those hyenas. I saved them from being killed."

"Why bother, though?" he asked as they headed towards the building. "They were trying to kill you! Not to mention the fact that it probably puts a target on the precinct."

"Yeah, but they'd have to fight through all those officers, not to mention Bogo himself," Judy smirked. "You should've seen how many attacked the compound I was in. There's no way they have enough forces to make an attack on a major building like the precinct!"

"I sure hope you're right, Fluff," he sighed. "But you didn't answer my question. Why bother saving those two hyenas?"

"Need I remind you that our job is to serve and protect? Even if they are killers, criminals, Nick… they deserve my protection. I couldn't stand idly by and let them be killed!" she exclaimed.

"But you did fire at them," he pointed out.

"Only to incapacitate! I'm not even sure how I got the strength to actually shoot them at all," she muttered. "I've never fired at a mammal before."

"Self-preservation can be a powerful ally," Nick shrugged as he opened the door to _The Pit_ and padded into the dark room. Now that he and Judy knew that Dr. Tavi kept the first room dark on purpose, they walked towards the back door with more confidence than the first time through.

"I suppose you're right," she snorted. "But it does make me wonder why Lionheart wouldn't even attempt to cover up the attack on the black site."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, considering self-preservation is a 'powerful ally' and all, Lionheart is kinda being stupid," she explained. "He had to make a speech admitting that there is an enemy force attempting to slaughter him and his citizens, not to mention the questions that'll be raised about the black site itself. Lionheart's entire operation could be ousted."

"I don't think so, Fluff," Nick chuckled. "I think it's a calculated gamble, risking his popularity to get something better in the long run."

"Oh? And what is it that he'd be getting?"

"What about lifting the weapons ban for the ZPD? What if that's what he's really after?"

"And how exactly does that help him? To me, it looks like he's admitting that his secret teams aren't enough to protect this city. That he _needs_ the ZPD."

"Hold on, think about it, Fluff," Nick said, stopping in his tracks, in the middle of the dark room. "What could lifting the weapons ban for the ZPD mean for the rest of the city?"

"Uh… that the police will be carrying firearms? Criminals are more likely to take that into consideration when dealing with officers?" Judy asked, raising an eyebrow, thankfully not bumping into the fox in front of her.

"No, think harder. Pretend that you have my foxy brain, Carrots," he grinned.

"I give up, Nick," she rolled her eyes and threw her paws up in the air.

"Well, for one thing, it means that civilians are going to be arming themselves," he sighed, slightly disappointed that she couldn't come to the same conclusion as he did.

"So? The public is just wary about losing their rights," she shrugged, still not seeing his point.

"No, see, it's a domino effect! Right now, there's only a single gun shop in Sahara Square, and only really the super paranoid actually buys anything from that shop. But what if all of a sudden, there's a sudden influx of mammals worried about losing their rights? Suddenly, this entire market is revitalized and everyone wants a piece of it," he said. "In order to meet demand, gun shops open all over Zootopia, and not all of them keep within regulation. Some, or even maybe all, depending on how high demand is, start relaxing on background checks. Maybe they would let convicted criminals waltz into their shops and buy ammo for weapons they bought from underground gun runners."

"That's not good…" she admitted. "But that doesn't exactly explain how it benefits Lionheart…"

"Maybe Lionheart has family who want to open a gun shop. Maybe they couldn't do it because the market wasn't profitable enough. But now that it is, they can get rich off selling firearms, and line Lionheart's pockets as well," he suggested. "Or perhaps it's something more… sinister."

"Wow, you definitely have a _Wilde_ imagination," Judy grinned, though in the darkness, Nick couldn't quite tell.

"Here I thought _I_ was the one with bad puns," Nick snorted, crossing his arms. "But I'm serious."

"Fine, you're serious. What could be more sinister than Lionheart profiting off the public's paranoia?"

"Did you notice on the news it said that ZPD officers up to eight feet tall will be permitted to carry firearms?" he asked.

"I did happen to catch that," she replied.

"Well, what happens when so many smaller mammals are packing firearms that the larger mammals go and complain about their inability to feel safe? They point to the ZPD and how they don't have to obey the six-foot rule. And Lionheart, taking this opportunity, abolishes the six-foot rule altogether!" he said. " _Another_ market opens up, gun manufacturers! Suddenly, they have to arm species of mammals that previously couldn't be armed. Imagine an elephant carrying a pistol, it'd be the size of a cannon!"

"I still don't see it," she sighed.

"Really? Lionheart is raising a population of mammals who have a familiarity with firearms. What if he mandates that every gun owner be forced to put in a certain number of hours of training? Suddenly common citizens are training themselves to be proficient with dangerous weapons. He's effectively creating soldiers!" Nick exclaimed.

"But Zootopia has no-"

" _Standing_ army, Fluff. Zootopia has no standing army. There's nothing saying that Lionheart can't start a draft if war breaks out," he cut her off before she could finish. "What if he uses his secret special-op teams to start a war with foreign forces? Or what if he attempts to declare independency from the country?"

"He would have a well-trained army right at his fingertips," Judy muttered. "I see your point… but I still don't think it'll happen. He could've done this a long time ago… why now?"

"The hyenas. They're the perfect scapegoat to push this all through. They're well-trained, would do anything for money, and expendable. I bet Lionheart hired them himself!" he said.

"You forget that they're coming after him," she replied.

"He's confident, what more can I say?" he shrugged.

"Other than 'I'm absolutely insane?' Not much else," she smirked, padding past him, and heading towards the door so she could continue her case. "So much for that foxy brain of yours."

"Deny it all you want, Carrots, you know I'm right," he grinned, following behind her.

"And I'm a weasel," she chuckled, opening the door to let a stream of light enter the dark room. Once again, it blinded her, but Nick helped her press onwards into the second room, taking each step carefully.

It didn't take long for her eyes to adjust to the brightness. Spotting Dr. Tavi dropping a small lizard into one of the glass cages, she called out, "Dr. Tavi!"

The mongoose glanced over at the two officers with furrowed eyebrows, before his expression relaxed. He climbed off a small ladder that he had used to look down into the cage and made his way over to the officers. "Well, hello again, Nick, officer Hopps. What brings you by today?" he asked, wiping his paws on his pants.

"We never received the venom samples the last time we were here," Judy explained, doing her best to seem confident, despite all the hissing in the room. _Damn phobias,_ she growled internally.

"Well I'm sorry, officer Hopps… but it's the same deal as last time. I just milked them, and the venom is going out to the mammals that ordered it… I can't milk them again for another few hours," Dr. Tavi explained with a small shake of his head.

"I'm afraid that's no good, Dr. Tavi. We need those samples, now," Judy said, crossing her arms. "So you're just going to have to apologize to your customers."

"You can't just take them!" Dr. Tavi protested, taking a step backwards.

"I'm afraid we can," Nick said, stepping forwards. "Not handing over evidence is obstruction of justice. Which is a crime."

"But… the venom isn't evidence! It wasn't at the crime scene," Dr. Tavi said.

"No, but a chemical we know can only be found in snake venom _was_ present at a crime scene. Within a dead body, no less. If your venom can help us identify the killer, then we need to take it," Judy said, crossing her arms.

"Oh… fine," the mongoose sighed. "Fine. But I'll be cutting it close when it comes time to pay the bills on this apartment." With that, he turned around and headed towards a separate room from the one housing all the caged snakes. Likely his office.

Judy turned and nodded at Nick, before following after him. The fox returned the nod and let out a soft sigh. He waited a few seconds before he began wandering throughout the room, glancing into the glass cages. He wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for, but he knew that he needed to take a good look around.

It wasn't impossible, but it was unlikely that one of these snakes was the cause of Duke's death. And maybe even the disappearance of all those rodents. He looked into each cage, scrutinizing it for any way out, but he saw none. Just a bunch of pens holding snakes.

Shaking his head, he muttered, "Why did I ever want one of these things?" Getting a good chuckle out of his own comment, he continued to walk around the room, looking into cages. Judy and Dr. Tavi had been gone for several minutes, as the good doctor had not yet finished storing the venom properly.

Finally, Nick reached the back wall of the room. There was only a single cage in the back of the room. It was the largest cage by far, several feet taller than all the others, and stretched from one end of the back wall, to the other. Cocking his head, he walked closer to the glass, wondering what could possibly be in this cage that warranted it being so much larger than all the others.

Starting at one end, he began walking towards the other, eyes flicking back and forth in an effort to catch anything suspicious. Or even the occupant of the cage. At the moment, the huge pen seemed empty. But eventually, his eyes landed on what he recognized to be droppings. It wasn't exactly strange to him, most of the other, smaller cages had dropping in them, as Dr. Tavi had yet to clean up after their occupants. But it proved to Nick that the cage in front of him was not empty.

Narrowing his eyes, he continued to look around carefully, his gaze darting from side to side. Though he did not move from where he was standing. But once again, he found nothing, causing his eyes to settle back on the droppings in the center of the cage. _Now… what could've left those?_ he wondered internally, though he doubted he was enough of an expert to identify an animal, let alone a snake, by their shit.

But as he stared at it, he began to see something odd. _Is that… fur?_ he asked himself, narrowing his eyes again. Remembering back to the first time he and Judy had visited _The Pit_ , Dr. Tavi had said he fed the snakes other reptiles and occasionally fish or birds. Sometimes even insects. But the only thing that could leave fur would be…

But before he could finish that thought, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. But it was too late, as something large lashed out from its hiding place, hissing loudly as it did. Its face slammed against the glass, causing Nick to jump backwards, stumbling, and landing on his back, taken completely off guard.

In his surprise, he drew his weapon and pointed it at the creature, only for him to relax a moment later. It was just a snake. A very, very large snake, but just a snake nonetheless. Heaving a sigh of relief, he pushed himself to his feet, but didn't holster his gun. He padded back up to the glass and looked the snake over.

It was black, with yellow crossbands going down its length. It was in a defensive position, its head several feet off the ground with a hood extended. _Cobra,_ the fox recognized as he scrutinized the snake. And it was a big one, nearly six meters long. But the funny thing about it seemed to be that it was _glaring_ at the fox.

"Well, you certainly scared the shit out of me," Nick snorted. "But it seems that's all you can do while you're in that cage."

 _Pesky fox._

Nick's ear flicked as he heard a voice he didn't recognize. It seemed to be emanating from within the cage, but he couldn't quite tell. It had this… echo to it, which meant it could be coming from anywhere. The fox shook his head, he was just imagining it, and went to holster his weapon. But the snake's tongue flicked, catching his attention as it straightened out, its 'glare' disappearing.

 _Go away._

There was that voice again, but Nick didn't have time to ponder it as his green eyes locked onto the snake's green orbs. His paw began moving of its own free will, even though the fox protested the motion, struggling to holster his weapon. But he couldn't control his paw anymore, nor could he look away from the snake's eyes.

His breathing became heavy as his shaking paw made its way underneath his neck, his thumb involuntarily cocking the weapon his paw was holding. He sucked in a sharp breath as he felt his finger begin to _press_ onto the trigger, despite his mind screaming at it not to.

"Nick!" Judy's voice brought him out of his stupor, causing him to drop his gun. Thankfully it didn't go off as it clattered against the floor.

The fox shook his head a few times before looking at his bunny. "What?" he asked, electing to ignore her concerned look.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh… yeah, I think so," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "What took you so long?"

"I made sure that the venom was properly stored and labeled, that way we'd know what species got the match without having to come back here," she said, shivering slightly.

"That's a good idea," he chuckled as Dr. Tavi stepped forward, handing him the box of venom samples.

"I see you met our king cobra," the mongoose chuckled. "He can be a little feisty."

"A little?" the fox deadpanned.

"Well… he doesn't like visitors," Dr. Tavi explained. "He doesn't even really like me."

"Why haven't you sold him, then?" Nick growled, taking a few steps away from the cage.

"Well, no one wants him. For obvious reasons."

"Is he secure in that cage?" Judy asked, making her way over towards the glass, despite her heartbeat beginning to race.

"Oh yes, very secure," Dr. Tavi replied, nodding his head. "He's a bit large, but I've made very sure he cannot escape. Though, that of course means I have to get a bigger ladder to feed him." The mongoose pointed towards a large ladder and chuckled.

"What's his name?" the rabbit asked as she looked up at the large snake.

"Reaper," the mongoose replied. "Though it should probably be Bitey or something along those lines."

"He's bitten you before?" Judy asked, not glancing at him. She couldn't take her eyes off the snake's. His green eyes seemed to… calm her, her heartbeat slowed down as she stared at Reaper.

"Well, yeah. I have to get in there to clean the cage, after all," Dr. Tavi chuckled.

" _You get into the cages to clean them?!_ " Nick exclaimed. "Please tell me you take the snakes out first!"

"Nah, I don't have to," the mongoose grinned, rolling up one of his sleeves. On his arm there were dozens and dozens of bitemarks. "I'm pretty much immune to his venom, along with all the others."

"It seems you were tailored for this job, then," the fox muttered, as Dr. Tavi rolled his sleeve back down. "I think we've gotten what we've come for, right, Hopps?" Nick asked, glancing at Judy.

But the rabbit wasn't listening to him. She was too busy staring into the snake's eyes, completely mesmerized by them. "He's beautiful," she muttered, her fear seemingly vanishing. She couldn't help putting a paw on the glass as she gaped at Reaper.

"Hey, Judy!" Nick said, putting a paw on her shoulder to snap her out of it. Whatever had happened to him, he didn't want to happen to her. "We have to go."

She blinked a few times, before glancing back at the snake. The fear didn't start rising in her heart, almost like she wanted to stay. But she sighed and turned away from the cage. "Yeah, let's go," she nodded.

"If you like him so much, maybe you should buy him!" Dr. Tavi suggested, following them towards the door that would lead them to the pitch-black room.

"No thanks," the fox shook his head, answering before Judy could, just before he shut the door, sending them back into the abyss. "Hey, what happened to 'afraid of snakes?'" he asked as they made their way towards the shop's exit.

"I have no idea," the rabbit muttered, following behind him. Though she could feel a type of _pull_ , telling her to go back to that snake.

"There's something… off about that snake," he growled.

"Definitely."

"I _saw_ something in his cage, Judy. I'm not sure if it was just a trick of the light, or if I really am going crazy… but I have this feeling that Reaper's venom is going to be our match."

"For once, I agree with your paranoia…"

XXX

"Oh my goodness, did you see the Gazelle concert last night?!" Clawhauser's voice echoed throughout the precinct, causing those that heard him to shake their heads. His favorite pop star… well, maybe his favorite mammal ever had held a huge concert last night in hopes to ease the public about the danger Lionheart claimed the city was in. And it certainly worked… at least for the bubbly cheetah.

"I even got tickets!" Clawhauser grinned. He was chatting with a smallish gray wolf Grizzoli was bringing in. The wolf stared at the cheetah, just happy the polar bear that had arrested him was letting him listen to the receptionist. Though he could've done without the pawcuffs. "Can you believe it?!"

"Uh… yeah, I can," the wolf said, very thankful that he wasn't wearing a muzzle. "I got tickets too."

"Really?!" Clawhauser exclaimed, not noticing Grizzoli roll his eyes. "What did you think? Is she something or what?!"

"She's an angel with horns," the wolf chuckled, causing the polar bear grasping his shoulder to slap a paw onto his forehead.

The cheetah gaped at the felon for a moment before a huge grin broke out onto his face. "Yes, exactly! My name's Benjamin Clawhauser," he greeted, holding out his paw for the wolf to shake.

"John," the wolf said, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to remind the cheetah that his paws were cuffed behind his back.

"Oh, right… sorry. Maybe I'll see you later, then?" Clawhauser asked with a hopeful smile. It wasn't often the criminals that passed through here enjoyed Gazelle as much as he did.

"Yeah, maybe," the wolf nodded. It might be nice to have company while he awaited his trial.

"You can visit him in his cell, Clawhauser," Grizzoli growled. "Let's go, _Arctic Butcher John_ , time to put you where you belong." The wolf sent a short smile at the cheetah before he was dragged away towards the holding cells. Clawhauser let out a sigh and turned back around. It was always nice to meet new mammals.

But the cheetah only worked for a few seconds before he heard the precinct doors open, causing him to look up, hoping to see another new mammal for him to meet, or maybe even Nick and Judy! It had been quite a while since he last saw Judy… he sure hoped she was okay.

But it wasn't Nick or Judy that walked through the precinct doors, rather it was a species he didn't immediately recognize. But as his mind whirled to place the species, he eventually remembered the only other time he had seen it. He had seen that particular species as corpses on TV this morning. _Hyena,_ he realized too late as he watched the mammal raise a gun and fire at him.

There was a small pop from the suppressed pistol the hyena was carrying as Clawhauser's eyes widened in surprise. The round impacted his neck, sending pain flashing throughout his system. But it didn't last long as his eyes closed and he fell off his seat, landing on the floor with a loud _thump!_

The other officers in the room turned to look at the source of the noise, only to see the flak jacket toting hyena aiming at them next. They panicked and tried to move or rush her, but several more pops emanated from the hyena's pistol, gunning them down in a matter of seconds.

Grizzoli noticed the sounds of his fellow officers falling too late. He whirled around just in time to see he was being targeted next, before it was all over. The round impacted his chest, biting through his clothes and into his skin. He cursed his lack of a Kevlar vest, just as his eyes began to close.

The wolf he was escorting watched with wide eyes as the polar bear collapsed onto his knees, before falling over on his side. John looked at the hyena with a small smirk. He had never seen a mammal like that, but he was glad she came to help him. _Must be a fan of my work,_ he chuckled internally. "Well, thanks for freeing-" he tried to say, before a round impacted him in the chest too.

Blank watched as the wolf keeled over before heading over to the receptionist's desk. She pushed the cheetah on the floor aside before setting her pistol on the desk. She sat down on the cheetah's chair and turned towards his computer. Thankfully he was already logged on and she wouldn't have to hack in.

She accessed the security cameras and shut them down, before erasing the digital tapes of her being here. Finally, she cut the power. The precinct went dark as the computer in front of her shut down. Smirking to herself, she grabbed her pistol and stood up, before heading over to the polar bear she had just gunned down.

She released the magazine from her gun and checked how much ammo she had left. Three plus one in the chamber. Nodding to herself, she loaded the firearm again and holstered it on the right side of her hip, before walking past the polar bear officer and heading towards the door he had been leading the pawcuffed wolf towards.

She opened the door and padded into the cell block, letting the heavy door shut by itself behind her. The cell block was just a long hallway, lined with cells on either side. Blank headed down the hallway, glancing into each of the cells. A few cells had one or two occupants, though not the occupants she was looking for, but the majority of the cells were empty.

The prisoners stared at her as she made her way towards the back of the cell block, wondering who she was and what she was doing here. They were so focused on her, they didn't realize that the power was out, the backup generators were shut off, and their cells were unlocked.

Finally, Blank reached the final cell in the block. "Bingo," she growled as she saw two hyenas sitting in the prison. Their eyes widened as they spotted her, before immediately jumping to their feet with deep growls.

"Oh pipe down, you mutts," she rolled her eyes, drawing the pistol in her left holster and grabbing a hold of the bars.

"Fuck you, bitch!" one of the hyenas snarled, baring his teeth at her. "Fucking moron! The bars are _locked_."

Blank didn't react to the hyena, and easily forced the cell open, allowing her to step inside with the two males. She resisted the urge to respond snarkily, instead opting to fire a bullet through one of the hyena's heads.

The bullet sent blood and brain matter flying out of the back of the hyena's skull, coating the wall behind him in red, before he collapsed to the floor. The other hyena stared at his companion for a moment before turning back to Blank, fear present in his eyes. Though his voice didn't betray any of it as he said, "Fuck you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Didn't think I could get you here, did ya?" Blank smirked, approaching him slowly, though her weapon wasn't pointed at him.

"What do you want?" the hyena growled, ignoring her question. "You haven't killed me yet… you want something."

"Ah, an ounce of intelligence. That's new," she chuckled as she shoved him down onto his cot. "Where is your base of operations?"

"Our what?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"Aw, and you just showed you had some brains," she tutted, before firing into his leg. He screamed in agony, causing all the other prisoners to grimace. Even knowing now that their cells were unlocked, they didn't want to leave. Not when she could get to them. She glared at him as he covered the bullet hole, trying to stop the bleeding. "Where is your base of operations?" she repeated.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he hissed, his leg tensing from the pain, but only ending up inflaming it.

"Base of operations. A stronghold. A fox hole," she growled. He only stared at her, causing her to roll her eyes in annoyance. "Where are the rest of your forces located?"

"I don't know," he growled.

"Bullshit!" she snarled, slapping his paw away from his wound, before shoving her thumb into the bullet hole, pushing the bullet lodged in him harder into his bone. He screamed again and began writhing in pain, but she held him down with her other paw, preventing him from freeing himself from her grasp.

"I don't know, I don't know!" he screamed out. "Please! There is no central base of command! We're all separated, hiding in different spots throughout the city!"

Growling again, she released him, taking a step back and training her gun on him again. "And where are the other hidey-holes?" she asked.

"I… I don't know. I could only tell you where mine is… but it's abandoned. You… already killed everyone there," he muttered, relaxing against the hard wall, covering his wound again. "Even… even if I did know… the forces not used in the attack changed locations. They could be… anywhere now!"

"Is that so?" Blank sighed. She hadn't expected them to have their forces fragmented. Which meant they were better prepared than she had thought. They knew the layout of the city better than anticipated, and they were likely hidden well. It would be hard to find them. Though… _It does raise the question of how they're moving around_ , she thought to herself.

"Yeah," the male hyena smirked. "The Matriarch outsmarted you."

"But I outsmarted _you_ ," the female hyena growled, before putting a bullet through his skull in a similar manner to his cellmate.

She holstered her gun with a sigh before padding out of the cell, not bothering to watch the light die from his eyes. She made her way down the hallway, the other prisoners putting their backs against the back wall in an effort to cower away from her, hoping she didn't kill them next. But she ignored them and headed straight for the door leading to the precinct, shutting, and locking it behind her.

Despite the apparent power outage, there wasn't a soul in sight trying to investigate what had happened. Or if any of the prisoners had escaped, as they were confident that the door leading to the cell block was locked. Most were instead attempting to investigate why the backup generators hadn't kicked in yet. Which allowed Blank to roam around the precinct freely. She had one last stop to make.

She made her way towards the steps, taking each one slowly, keeping her ears pricked for sounds of movement. She didn't enjoy being ambushed, after all. Once she reached the top of the stairs, she made her way towards a room she had been in a few times before, though she had never entered through the door before.

She knocked on the door and heard the booming voice of chief Bogo shout, "Enter!" only a moment later. Chuckling to herself, she opened the door and padded into the room to see Bogo facing the windows, his back to her.

"What's up, chief?" Blank asked, crossing her arms.

"Ah… I was worried that you were the cause of all this," the cape buffalo growled, not turning around to face the hyena.

"You sort of forced my paw, chief," she sighed. "I thought I was very specific when I first contacted you. No prisoners."

"I wasn't the one to arrest them. And I had hoped that the survival of your species meant enough to you that you'd let these two go," he replied. "They need to face justice for their crimes."

"Death is their justice," she shrugged.

"Not in my city it isn't," Bogo growled, turning around.

"Finally growing some balls?" Blank asked, smirking slightly. "I had heard from Wolfgang that you weren't going to help me anymore. I didn't believe him at first, considering how easy it was to get him to change his mind about abandoning me."

"I'm not just done with you, I'm done with Lionheart too. He's gone too far with all this," Bogo growled. "Using the hyenas to advance his agenda? That's low, even for him."

"He's a bastard, I agree with you there," she chuckled. "And I'm going to enjoy watching this collapse on him."

"So you're abandoning him too?" Bogo asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't think you were capable of that. It seems I'm not the only one growing a pair today."

"Attacking the precinct is going rogue, anyways. Besides, he let my team die. I don't give a flying _fuck_ about him and his cause anymore," she snarled. "I just care about my mission. My last mission."

"Some mission you have there. _Genocide?_ Really?"

The hyena was quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh. "You're right, you know? This is _your_ city. Not mine. I don't belong here," she growled. "Lionheart didn't fix me… raise me… _train_ me to protect this city. He took me in to exterminate his enemies. Now I'm going to exterminate mine."

"Destruction is all you know, then?" Bogo sighed. He knew it was a long shot. There was no reasoning with her.

"It's all I'm capable of doing," she nodded. "Now, hand over my laptop… or you will be destroyed as well."

"No," Bogo growled. "No… I'm tired of being pushed around. I will _not_ enable you any longer! If you need the laptop for something, then you can't have it. Your reign of destruction ends here."

Blank stared blankly at him for several seconds before letting out a sigh. "I feared you would say that… but that's why I brought _this!_ " she snarled, pulling her right pistol from its holster, and firing at the chief.

But the caped buffalo had expected her to do that, as he threw himself from his chair and dodged the round. He rolled to his feet near a small cabinet full of little gifts given to him by thankful mammals from his days as a detective. He kept the sentimental things in his office to remind him of all he had achieved, but he tossed sentiment out the window as he grabbed a potted plant and lobbed it at the hyena before she could fire again.

He didn't expect her to catch the vase just before it hit her face, before crushing the ceramic pot with her paw, sending dirt and pieces of the pot all over his office floor. He managed to grab a plaque that he had been given before making police chief before he charged at her, lowering his head to ram her.

She fired at him again, but he held the plaque out in front of him, managing to stop the round on the wood. If he had the time, he would've marveled at how lucky he was she aimed at his head, where the plaque was protecting him, instead of anywhere else, but the office was small for his size, and he was about to make contact.

To his dismay, she rolled away from him, causing him to slam hard into the wall. The drywall cracked and broke as he nearly busted straight through it. He didn't stick around to thank the fact that he wouldn't have to fix an entire wall, instead he dislodged himself and rolled to the side, dodging yet another round.

He grabbed the bottom of his desk and hefted it onto its side, creating a barrier that protected him further. But he didn't cower behind his desk for long, instead, he repositioned and kicked it hard, sending it skidding towards the hyena. He jumped to his feet and charged her once again, knowing that Blank would be forced to jump over the desk to avoid it, which would leave her vulnerable to a ram.

Even if she shot him, he would still have enough momentum to slam into her, hopefully with enough force to toss her out of the window, where she would meet a horrible death. With a loud _splat!_ But it was not to be.

As Blank drew from her left holster and fired in midair, hitting the cape buffalo on his thigh at an angle. The bullet traveled through muscle and bone before becoming lodged in the chief's leg. Bogo stumbled before tripping, causing him to hit the ground and skid to a stop mere inches away from where the hyena landed.

He looked up in time to see Blank aiming at him with her right pistol. "Goodnight, chief," she snarled, before pulling the trigger. There was a soft _pop_ , before he felt the round impact his neck. Then his eyes shut, and darkness reigned.

Sighing to herself, the hyena holstered both of her firearms, before turning to the desk behind her. Seeing that some of the drawers had been forced open when the desk had hit the back wall, she rifled through them. She quickly found her laptop, which she picked up and held tight against her chest. _Objective complete,_ she chuckled to herself, before heading towards the door.

XXX

 **Boom. Alright, lots of interesting stuff here. I don't know what the reviews will focus more on, Nick and Judy at the snake pit, or Blank assaulting the police station?! Hopefully both sections are equally interesting and warrant responses in the reviews. In any case… oh noes, Clawhauser and Bogo were shot! As well as a bunch of officers! But here's what I will suggest…** ** _please read the second section of this chapter carefully!_** **You may find your answer. And that snake did something weird to Nick and Judy… I wonder what** ** _that_** **was all about? Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until next time (whenever that may be) to find out!**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 –Chief of Police:

Author's Note:

 **Wow, looks like I have to thank you all again for making this the most reviewed story I've ever written! I really wish I had more to say about this chapter than that, unfortunately I don't. So let's get right to it. It's a short chapter, unfortunately, but hopefully still good nonetheless. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Nick shook his head to clear it as he hopped into the driver's seat of the cruiser. His ears laid flat on the back of his head as he glanced down at his pistol. He couldn't for the life of him remember drawing it, or why, yet he remembered hearing Judy's voice and finding it on the ground. Logic dictated that he had drawn it at some point… but he couldn't remember when.

"So… that was a bit weird, right?" he asked, his lips twisting into a forced smirk. He didn't want Judy to worry about him, as he was more concerned about her. She had been afraid the moment she stepped foot into the building, but when she had been looking at Reaper, the scent of fear vanished.

"More than weird," Judy grumbled in confirmation, hopping into the seat next to him, and shutting the door. She set the venom samples on her lap, but refused to take a paw off the box, knowing that a hard turn could cause them to go flying, and weeks of waiting would go down the drain.

"Are you alright, Fluff?" he asked as he fastened his seatbelt and started the car. Both of them knew something was wrong, but neither of them could place exactly what that something could be.

"I… I don't know," she admitted, fastening her seatbelt as Nick began pulling the cruiser out of its parking spot.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, hoping that they would be able to shine some light on the situation.

"There isn't much to talk about," she sighed. "I don't actually understand what happened. One moment I was absolutely terrified… the next, I felt completely at ease."

"At least you remember what happened," he chuckled, gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter. "I don't remember a damn thing before you called my name out."

"Yeah," she nodded. In truth, she didn't even remember _why_ she had called out his name. It felt like she had thought he had been in danger, but she couldn't quite remember. "But something's definitely wrong here."

"Maybe we should've asked Dr. Tavi," Nick chuckled as he came to a stop at a stoplight.

"I don't _trust_ Dr. Tavi," Judy grumbled, hugging the container of venom samples even tighter against her chest. "He was oddly flakey about having to give up the samples he had collected."

"It's his livelihood, Carrots. He probably doesn't appreciate cops confiscating his one real source of income," the fox replied, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes, before looking back at the light just in time for it to turn green.

"Still, I think Dr. Tavi knows enough about snakes to be able to frame them in a murder case," she said. "I think we should do a bit of research into who receives these samples."

"Is it just me, or did that sound like you think Dr. Tavi was the one to kill Duke and kidnap those rodents?" Nick asked, a smirk stretching across his face.

"To get into your headspace for a moment," she smirked. "What if Dr. Tavi is secretly an assassin who makes his hits look like snakes killed them? Like it's his calling card or something?"

"I'm shocked, Fluff, crazy theories are usually my forte," he chuckled, coming to another stop. "But if you have to know, I don't think Dr. Tavi is capable of killing anyone. I've known him for a while, and he's definitely harmless."

"Maybe you're right," she shrugged. "But I still think looking into where this venom is supposed to go is a good idea. Doing a bit of extra research on snakes wouldn't hurt either."

"Yeah… that might… be… a… what the hell?" Nick's once playful tone quickly became muted as he pulled into the parking lot of the precinct. He had seen flashing lights from across the street, but that wasn't exactly something odd to see from a police precinct. But an ambulance was a completely different matter.

Judy raised an eyebrow and turned her head to look out the window, only for her eyes to widen. "What the hell?!" she repeated the same sentiment her partner had given as she quickly unfastened her seatbelt, and threw the door open.

Nick put the cruiser in park and followed her lead, though he hesitated when he realized that Judy had left the venom samples behind. Making a split-second decision, he grabbed the samples and took off after her.

Judy rocketed towards the ambulance, skidding to a halt beside it just in time to see chief Bogo being loaded into the back on a stretcher. His eyes were shut tight and blood was pouring out of a wound on his thigh. The medical staff, a pair of goats, were desperately trying to seal the wound with bandages, but the blood kept pouring through. They didn't have strong enough gauze for the cape buffalo.

"Hey, what happened here?!" Nick called out to one of the goats. The male goat hopped out of the back and raced around to the front, jumping into the driver's seat. He started the ambulance and waited for his partner to finish strapping the stretcher down.

The female goat looked up from her work momentarily to see the fox and bunny duo. "Someone attacked the precinct!" she called out, shutting one of the doors to the ambulance. She didn't have time to talk to them. "Chief Bogo is in critical condition and we have to get him to a hospital _now_!"

"Wait, what about the others?" Judy yelled back, only for the other door to shut and the ambulance to speed away, sirens blaring the whole time. "Did she say, 'attacked the precinct?'"

"Yup," Nick muttered, turning towards the building and walking towards it. "Who would be crazy enough to do that?!"

The rabbit followed the fox, her expression darkening for a moment. She had a _very_ good idea who would be crazy enough to do that. But she marched towards the precinct without answering the fox, entering the building to see the horror show that awaited her. Bodies lay strewn across the floor as officers rushed around, checking pulses, and flipping over the bodies of comrades so that they were on their backs.

Judy clenched her paws into fists as she watched an elephant and hippo, that she recognized to be Pennington and Higgins, flip over Grizzoli. But what brought tears to her eyes was when she spotted two rhino officers pulling a fat cheetah from behind the front desk, checking his pulse as they did.

Judy rushed over to the rhinos, one of them being McHorn, the officer that sat next to her and Nick every day in the Bullpen. "Is he alright?" Judy asked, sliding to a stop next to Clawhauser.

"He's fine," McHorn grunted.

"Really?" Judy asked, putting her paw against Clawhauser's flabby neck. She felt around for a moment, but managed to find the cheetah's pulse. He was perfectly fine. "What happened to him, then?"

"We have no idea," the rhino shrugged. "All the other officers are fine too. They've just been knocked out."

"Except Bogo," the rabbit muttered. Her paw had brushed against something in the cheetah's neck while she was searching for a pulse, so she went digging in the folds in his neck, hoping to find the culprit.

"Yes, the chief was the only one actually shot," he nodded. "It hit an artery in his leg, and it didn't help how long it took the ambulance to get here."

"Bogo… Bogo will be fine. He _has_ to be fine," she growled, grinding her teeth together.

"The medics said that, despite losing a lot of blood, he should make a full recovery in a few weeks, as long as they can get the bullet out," he said.

"Were you here when it happened?" she asked, still searching for the object in Clawhauser's neck.

"I was in my office working on a report when it happened, as were most of the other officers," he replied. "It was just like any normal day until the power suddenly went out."

"The power went out?" Judy asked, looking up at the rhino with a raised eyebrow. _BLACKOUT,_ she muttered internally. _It was definitely her._

"Yeah, the backup generators never kicked in either. Most of us went to check on the backup generators," he explained. "It wasn't until after we got the power back on did we find out what had happened to the other officers. And Bogo."

Judy's paw wrapped around the object in Clawhauser's neck. She tugged on it a few times before it came free from the flabby folds, allowing her to hold it up to the light. It appeared to be a bullet, though she didn't recognize what kind. Upon seeing the bullet in the rabbit's paws, McHorn said, "We found several of those embedded in the other officers. We have no idea what they are."

She nodded and pocketed the bullet before standing up. "The most important thing we need to do is put all the pieces together, we need to find out what happened," she said. "Try and move the downed officers to somewhere more comfortable and take blood samples from them. I have a feeling that they're just asleep, but if they've been poisoned, knowing now is better than later."

"Yes ma'am," McHorn nodded, smirking slightly. Of the many weird things that had happened today, getting orders from the precincts only rabbit officer definitely topped the list.

"Once they wake up, we should be able to put the whole story together. Then we can focus on catching the culprit," Judy growled, clenching her paws into fists again.

The two rhino officers carefully picked Clawhauser up and made to take him away, but they paused in their step. "Oh, before I forget, Hopps," McHorn said. "A couple of strange mammals are here for you."

"Strange mammals?" Judy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why were they looking for me?"

"They didn't say, but you can ask them yourself, they're in Bogo's office," he said.

Judy nodded slowly as the two rhinos began walking away, before turning around to Nick. "Strange mammals, huh?" Nick asked. "Well, I guess we should find out what they want."

"I guess…" the rabbit muttered, before turning towards the stairs. She and Nick made their way up the stairs and towards Bogo's office. Once they had gotten to the office, the two glanced at each other. Neither of them were tall enough to actually open the door.

Nick shrugged and raised a paw to knock on the door, only for it to open before he had the chance. A lioness in a suit stood in the entryway, her expression completely unreadable as she looked down at the two smaller mammals. "Officer Hopps?" she asked blandly.

"That's me," Judy replied, trying to glance around the intimidating feline to see if there were any other mammals in the office. McHorn had said there were a couple of them, but she couldn't see passed the lioness.

"Please, come in," the lioness said, stepping aside just enough to let the rabbit through. "Your partner will have to wait outside."

"Like hell I will!" Nick growled, taking a step forward.

"Sir, I'm afraid that I cannot let you-" the lioness started to say before she was cut off by another voice inside the office.

"We don't have time for this, let him in too," a distinctly male voice commanded. The lioness rolled her eyes before stepping out of the way completely. Nick raised an eyebrow, but followed Judy into the office, the door shutting behind him.

He couldn't help but flinch and turn around to see a wolf and the lioness standing in front of the exit with their arms crossed. _It doesn't look like we're going anywhere, then,_ the fox sighed before turning back around.

Only to see the smirking face of a gray and black striped buck standing next to a rather tall arctic vixen. "Officer Hopps," the rabbit greeted, leaning against Bogo's overturned desk. "You may address me as J."

"What the hell kind of name is J" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow. Judy's eye only twitched when she remembered what Blank had told her. _This one must be the group leader,_ she realized.

"J, huh?" Judy asked, ignoring Nick's comment. "And what is your little team called?"

"Oh? You already seem to know what we do," J said, looking over at the vixen next to him. "We are SKY. But that's not important. What is important that we need your help."

"My help," Judy deadpanned. "The last mammal apart of Lionheart's _undercover operation_ that came asking for my help ended up attacking this precinct."

"And you already know what happened here… well, that really cuts down on the amount that we have to explain to you," J grinned, before glancing at the vixen next to him. "See, I told you she would be helpful."

"I haven't agreed to anything yet," Judy crossed her arms. "There's a lot that we need to do to make sure that everyone is okay and Nick and I have a case that we need to finish."

"Ah yes, your case," J nodded. "Don't worry, I think that we'll be able provide adequate service to make this all worth your while."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked carefully.

"We're pursuing a rogue operative, and we have reason to believe she was the one who attacked this precinct. If you can help us locate her, then we can help you with your case," J said.

"We don't need your fucking help," Nick growled, taking a step forwards, forcing Judy behind him.

The vixen next to J reacted immediately, forcing the gray and black striped buck behind her as she growled at the red fox. "What makes you think you have a choice?" she snarled, baring her teeth at Nick.

"Now, now, there's no need to resort to violence," J said, trying to get the vixen to back down.

"Hold on, Nick," Judy said, also attempting to get her fox to calm down. "Now's not the time to fight!"

Nick's growl quickly turned into a sigh as he took a step back. The arctic vixen took a few more seconds before she too calmed down. "Sorry, Carrots… it just sounds like they're saying we _need_ their help to do our job," he grumbled.

Judy flinched slightly when the fox wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug, but she quickly relaxed. "I know how you feel, Nick," she whispered. "But we don't need them to do our job, it'll just be nice to have them speed the process up a bit."

J raised an eyebrow as he watched the two hug each other before turning to the vixen next to him. "Can I get a hug too?" he grinned, spreading his arms as if inviting her to actually hug him.

"No," the vixen growled, turning away from him, and padding towards the door where her other teammates waited.

"Harsh," J mumbled as Nick and Judy broke apart.

"Hey, how long would it take you to run twenty-three venom samples?" Judy asked, gesturing towards the box that Nick had set down when he hugged her.

"A day, maybe two," J replied. "Our labs are some of the best in the world."

"Hear that, Nick?" Judy said, smiling at the fox. "It would take us a week to run all the samples This could really cut down on time."

"Oh… you're always right, Fluff," the fox shook his head. "But I just want it to be clear, whatever they're having you do, I'm not leaving your side while you're doing it."

"That's fine, actually," J spoke up. "There's no need to separate you two. So… do we have a deal?"

"Yes, we have a deal," Judy nodded. "You run the venom samples while I help you with Blank."

"Blank?" J asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just what we decided to call her," Judy shrugged. "It's not important."

"Indeed," the buck nodded before turning to one of his larger comrades and snapping his fingers. The lioness padded forwards and grabbed the box full of venom samples, before heading back to her spot blocking the door.

"What do you need from me?" Judy asked.

"She attacked the precinct using rare Persian tranq darts. They're fast acting and extremely potent… your comrades will be out for a few hours at least. But, it raises the question of why she didn't just use live ammo, she was clearly carrying some, considering how Bogo was wounded," J said. "We believe that she was searching for something."

"Searching for something…" Judy echoed as she furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think. "Is there a laptop in Bogo's desk?"

J blinked a few times before snapping his fingers again. The lioness gave the box of venom samples to the vixen before following the wolf over to the desk, where she helped him right it. They began searching through the chief's desk, coming up empty pawed. "There aren't any laptops here," the wolf said.

"She got what she came for, then," Judy grumbled. "She told me soon after we met that she would assault the precinct to get her laptop back if she had to…"

"Would the laptop in question be a… PXR 1000?" J asked.

"Yeah, it would be," Judy nodded. "But what I want to know is how she knew Bogo had it…" Judy trailed off, beginning to think again.

"Damn, a PXR is gonna be difficult to track," J growled, ignoring how Judy trailed off. "Are you sure there isn't anything else she might've been here for?"

Judy's mind whirled as she worked to figure out how Blank would've found out about the laptop. Her eyes widened when she remembered who had been with her when she gave the laptop to Bogo. "Wolfgang," she muttered.

"Wolfgang?" J asked, raising an eyebrow at Judy. "As in… Wolfgang Fritz?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I met him after Blank kidnapped me. We were on some black site… he was with me when I gave the laptop to Bogo."

"Clever little bitch," he growled. "That's why we can't track her… she had the asset shut off her tracking device."

 _But if Wolfgang told her about the laptop… he probably also told her about the hyenas I had arrested,_ Judy realized, a scowl rising over her face. "Has anyone gone down to the cell block yet?" she asked.

"No. The door was still locked and after a short perimeter sweep, there have been no breeches. Although the cell doors were opened, as long as the prisoners are still in the cell block, getting them back into the cells isn't a priority," J said.

"Listen, the other day I arrested two hyenas and handed them off to Bogo to lock up in the cell block. The idea was that we'd be able to interrogate the hyenas and find out where their base of operations was, and then we'd be able to take down the mercenary army _legally_ and without many casualties," Judy explained. "But if Blank found out about the laptop, there's a good chance she found out about the hyenas too. And I remember Wolfgang saying that she didn't want to take prisoners."

J seemed to think for a moment. "If she went out of her way to hunt down these two hyenas, then there's a good chance that her next move is slaughtering the rest of them," he muttered. "Which means we need to find where they're hiding out first."

"Good luck with that," Judy sighed. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

The gray and black striped buck rubbed his temples in frustration. The rogue operative was going to be difficult to intercept, especially if the asset from the black site was working with her. "There is, actually," he sighed. "We're going to need the full cooperation of the ZPD."

"I can't guarantee that," Judy huffed, crossing her arms.

"I think you can," J smirked. "As temporary chief of police."

"What?" Judy blinked a few times, her ears seemingly deceiving her.

"Lionheart is going to make you temporary chief of police while Bogo recovers. And you are going to help us catch… Blank, I think you called her," J said. "Spend today making sure your officers are all okay, putting the prisoners back in their cells, and getting the precinct back into working order. Tomorrow, we'll drop by again with a sketch and a description of Blank that you will release to the public. That should restrict her movements enough to let us start searching for the hyena mercenary's lair. Once we find it, we'll stake out the area and intercept Blank the moment she gets there, where the ZPD will arrest her."

"C-chief of police?" Judy muttered, almost completely glossing over what J had told her. "I'm not sure…"

" _I'm_ sure," J said, reaching into one of his pockets, and pulling out a golden badge. "I believe you're missing something, chief Hopps."

Judy gaped at the buck as she accepted the badge. She turned it over in her paw, realizing that it was the badge she had been missing, before clipping it onto her vest. She shined it with the back of her paw. She felt whole again.

XXX

 **Ah… fuck, alright, let's end it here. Again, I'm sorry that this is a short chapter, but I lost a lot of time this week with studying and working, and it didn't help that this chapter was… surprisingly difficult to get right. There** ** _was_** **another section to this chapter, but I think it'll work better next chapter. If this chapter felt a bit rocky, then I apologize for that, next chapter should be smoother.**

 **One last thing before I leave you, you all may have noticed that this chapter came out quite a bit later than some of the previous chapter. Normally I try and post Saturday mornings… but it's starting to look like I'm going to be needing Saturday morning and afternoon to actually finish the chapter. So I'm afraid that, although the chapters** ** _will_** **be coming out on Saturdays as I promised, they'll be coming out later in the day than usual. Sorry again, and please stay tuned until next time to see what happens!**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 – Chief Bunny:

Author's Note:

 **Alright, here we go with another chapter. There wasn't a lot of interesting things in the reviews for me to comment on, but I will say to USA Patriot: hey, the speed of your reviews isn't important to me. Hope you're okay after Hurricane Irma. I haven't been following the news very closely (because I don't have a TV), but I've heard that Irma hit pretty hard.**

 **There's not a lot I have to say for this chapter, only that the response to Judy becoming chief of police was pretty underwhelming. Maybe you all predicted it and it didn't surprise you as much as I hoped. Anyways, just so we don't get whiplash for this chapter, basically Judy's gone down to City Hall to be officially named temporary chief of police… please, enjoy!**

XXX

 _Flash!_

Judy couldn't help but blink rapidly as the photographer moved his camera away from his eye to see how the picture turned out. The small rabbit stood next to the giant lion mayor, both of them feigning smiles for the camera. Lionheart was used to it, his muzzle had practically twisted into a constant smile, only changing expressions when he was truly angry or upset. However, Judy's mouth was beginning to hurt.

Judy had been summoned to City Hall nearly immediately after J and SKY had left. She entered Lionheart's office, expecting to see just him and him alone, but he was surrounded by the press. Dozens of mammals holding cameras waited for her arrival. Lionheart had already told everyone that the first rabbit officer of the ZPD would become the new chief of police.

And they all wanted pictures. Each and every one of them. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had all taken their pictures at once, but no… they all wanted different shots. Although each paper would be writing essentially the same story, they all wanted different cover pictures to distinguish themselves from their competitors.

And that meant poses. Dozens of poses all over the office. Some with her standing right next to Lionheart, some with him holding her in his paw, and even a few where she stood on his desk so she could shake his paw. She was starting to worry that the flashes were causing her vision to deteriorate.

Lionheart didn't seem bothered at all. He reveled in the attention the media gave him for appointing the rabbit to chief of police. And once each paper had gotten their cover picture, he settled them all down with a mere wave of his paw. He sat down at his desk, letting Judy climb up onto the desk so that she was technically next to him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today is a historic day," he said, smiling for the cameras in the room. "Not only has our first rabbit officer been promoted, temporary as it may be, I come before you today with this generation-defining bill."

The lion mayor raised a sheet of paper into the air, letting Judy get a good look at it. Although the newsmammals were too far away to read the small writing, Judy could read it just fine. It was the bill that allowed ZPD officers to carry firearms.

"Fifty years ago, a bill was drafted that restricted the rights to gun ownership to mammals under six feet of height, and it was only ten years ago when the ZPD was restricted from firearms entirely," Lionheart explained. "I have dedicated my career to relaxing these strict regulations and once again allowing gun enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes to carry firearms once again."

The lion took a deep breath as he set the bill back onto his desk, before folding his paws. "It was I who authored the amendment that allowed our newest and smallest officers to carry firearms once again, and now, although in these troubled times, I finally have the support to fulfill one of my biggest campaign promises," he orated. "By signing this bill into law, I will grant ZPD officers of eight feet and under the ability to carry firearms once again."

Those gathered burst into applause as Lionheart picked up his pen and signed the bill into law. He held the signed bill up again and let a few more pictured be taken before he turned to Judy and held out his paw once more. "You can tell your officers to start finding guns that suit their needs… because there is no standard issue at the moment, it's whatever your officers want," he said.

"I'll be sure to tell them," Judy nodded, grasping the larger lion's paw. She did her best to keep her ears from falling behind her back. She couldn't let the lion know that it bothered her that he skipped out on the most important part. _Training_ with the weapon.

The mayor turned back towards the cameras to answer more questions as Judy slid off his desk and padded towards the exit. She made it out of Lionheart's office, but before she could leave City Hall, she heard the sound of J's voice calling her name. "Officer… er, Chief Hopps!" the gray and black striped buck said as he rushed towards her.

"What is it?" Judy asked, turning around on her heel. She really hoped he didn't want a picture as well. She was definitely never taking one, or having one taken of her, for a very long time. Though, she had a feeling as chief of police she didn't have much of a choice.

J skidded to a stop, before brushing imaginary dust off his suit and straightening his tie. "I know I said earlier today that I would come by tomorrow with a picture of… Blank for you to use a mugshot, but we found the information we needed faster than we thought," he said, holding out a file for the gray doe.

Judy accepted the file and opened it. Sure enough, it held a picture of Blank, as well as a few basic characteristics of her appearance such as her height and weight. "Thank you," Judy sighed, closing the file. "Is there anything else?"

"You met the asset, right?" the buck asked. "Wolfgang Fritz, I mean."

"I did," she nodded.

"We have reason to believe that he and Blank are working together… but he seems to have corrupted all the files we have on him," he growled. "So we can't produce a mugshot for you. But warn your officers to arrest seven-foot tall white wolves."

"Isn't that profiling?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Fine," Judy sighed, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach. She was sure 'seven-foot tall white wolves' were quite rare, but she didn't want to end up arresting innocents for no reason other than they fit the profile.

J watched her head towards the exit, a smirk on his face. "I look forward to working with you, Judy!" he called out before she made it through the door.

XXX

Wolfgang sat on the bed completely naked as he waited for Blank to get back to the hotel room. He had to bite his tongue when he nearly thought of this little room as their home. As if he and Blank were a married couple that were a bit down on their luck. He supposed the fact that they were staying in the honeymoon suite didn't help the idea that he and Blank were newlyweds.

He scoffed at the idea as he flicked the channel on the TV. Television was proving to be an appropriate distraction from his thoughts of Blank… at least, for a little while. The moment whatever he was watching hit commercial, his mind began to wander. He didn't like his mind wandering.

But the sound of the door opening and slamming shut brought him out of his internal monologue. He shook his head, clearing it of his previous thoughts, before shutting off the television as Blank came into the room with a laptop in her paws.

"Hey, honey," Wolfgang grinned, unable to stop himself from poking a little fun at the hyena. "How was work?"

"Cram it," Blank growled as she set the laptop she was carrying onto a desk in the corner of the room.

"Looks like someone had a rough day at the office," the white wolf smirked, throwing his legs over the side of the bed, before standing up. "Does someone need a hug?"

Blank turned to glare at him. "Why are you naked?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Since it's impossible for me to go back to my home without getting captured, I only have one outfit," Wolfgang explained. "And, unlike you, I can't stand wallowing in my own filth for days on end. So I'm only wearing clothes when I have to go out."

"I don't wallow in my own filth," she crinkled her nose in disgust.

"I was kidding, dear," he chuckled. "I know you enjoy your showers, but you only have one outfit as well."

"Are you suggesting I walk around the hotel room naked?" she asked.

"You seemed pretty comfortable this morning being completely naked," he retorted.

"Oh… fine," she sighed, removing her trench coat.

 _Score,_ Wolfgang chuckled internally as he padded around to the other side of the bed. "You sound a little upset, though… hopefully this'll cheer you up!" he grinned, pulling a large metal box from under the bed, and hefting it up onto the mattress.

Her ear flicked as she finished removing her flak jacket, leaving her bare-chested, but her pants were still on as she approached the bed. "Yes!" she grinned. "Did you manage to get everything on my wish list?"

"Hey, I'm not Santa Claws," Wolfgang chuckled, unlocking the chest, and opening it. "I wasn't able to find everything on your list."

"What did you find, then?" Blank asked, crossing her arms. She was a bit disappointed that he wasn't able to find everything, but then again… she wasn't sure what she was expecting. It wasn't as if Zootopia was crawling with gun shops.

"Well, the armory was locked up tight behind a vault… I didn't have the equipment to get in," he said, reaching into the chest. "But I did manage to find a black market salesman who gave me a discount on some M60 rounds."

"I wasn't able to get the M60 back…" she grumbled. "I ran out of tranq rounds at the precinct."

"Oh… I actually saw that on the news, if you can believe it," he chuckled, pulling out two belts of M60 rounds, one hundred rounds on each belt.

"I do believe it," she rolled her eyes. "What else have you got for me?"

"Because I couldn't get into the armory, I couldn't get those Persian tranq rounds, but I did get a few magazines of regular nine-millimeter," he said. "And I managed to find you a good shotgun."

"Ooh, was it the AA-12 I asked for?" she asked, before frowning slightly as he pulled a seemingly regular pump shotgun from the chest.

"Er, no… again, I couldn't get into the armory. And guns are tough to find even on the black market," he explained.

"You couldn't find any semi-autos either?" she grumbled.

"Well… this is kinda a semi-auto," he chuckled at her disappointed expression. "It's an Ithaca slam-fire shotgun. It was dirt cheap and it still works, so I figured it would do."

"Slam-fire, huh?" she asked, taking the shotgun from him, and looking it over. It was a little rusted, but as she pulled the pump back and forth it seemed to work fine. "I've never used one of these before."

"Well, they don't look too difficult to use," he chuckled, before reaching into the chest again. "I managed to get plenty of shells and slugs for it, though."

"Well at least there's that. Did you manage to get ahold of anything else?"

"Well, I couldn't find any light machineguns or assault rifles, but I did manage to nab a submachinegun," he said, pulling one last weapon out of the chest. "An MP5, simple, but effective. And I got a couple hundred rounds for it as well."

Blank set the shotgun aside and took the submachinegun. She looked it over for flaws, but could find none. "Yes… this will do," she nodded, setting it next to the shotgun. "Thank you, Wolfgang."

"Ah, don't thank me yet… I did manage to grab the _special_ item on your list," he smirked. "The labs were only secured by a six-digit password that I could break into in my sleep."

Her eyes widened as a grin stretched across her face. "You got it?!" she asked excitedly. After he had failed to bring her anything she actually wanted, she didn't expect him to come through on the most difficult to find item on her list.

"One Hercules serum, ready to go," he said, pulling a smaller wooden box out of the metal one. He opened it to reveal a syringe filled with blue liquid. Still grinning like a schoolgirl, Blank snatched the syringe out of the case before Wolfgang could pull it away from her.

She made her way over to where she had tossed her flak jacket and opened up one of the front pockets to store the serum. "That's a very powerful steroid… are you sure you know what you're doing?" Wolfgang asked, giving the hyena a concerned expression.

"Aw, you're concerned for my safety, I'm touched," Blank smirked, putting a paw on her chest, just above her breasts. "But yes, I know exactly what I'm doing."

"If you say so… I just don't want you to hurt yourself," he muttered as she made her way back over to him.

"There's no need to worry about me," she scoffed as she began storing the weapons back into the metal chest. She would take them out again when she was ready to go back out. "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can take care of yourself… it's just that I know you're incapable of worrying about yourself, so someone has to do it for you," he smirked as she shut the chest and locked it back up.

She paused before moving the chest off the bed. "You actually care about me…" she muttered. She looked over at him with a smirk. "That's pretty cute, ya know… thinking that you could actually protect me."

"Only from yourself," he shot back.

"Keep dreaming, sunshine," she chuckled, but stood on her tippy-toes to press a chaste kiss against his lips. "But it's a nice thought." He could only stand there with a smirk on his face as he watched her move the chest off the bed and onto the floor. "I brought you back my laptop, that way you at least have something to use while I'm out in the field."

"I saw," he said, padding over to the desk, and booting up the laptop. "Is there anything you want me to do with it now?" he asked, logging into the laptop.

"Yeah… there's a good chance Lionheart has labeled me a 'rogue operative,'" she said, walking over to stand behind him. "I need to know what sort of actions have been taken against me."

"You want me to hack into Lionheart's systems?" he asked, glancing back at her with a smirk.

"Of course… can you do that?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Because if you can't, then you're pretty much useless."

"Oh don't be like that," he chuckled. "I wasn't useless last night, was I?"

"Can you get in or not?" she growled.

"Of course I can," he shook his head at how easily she was ticked off. He turned back to the laptop and began working. He only took five minutes before he was in Lionheart's mainframe. "There ya go, not so useless after all, eh?"

"Cram it. What actions have been taken against me?" she asked, leaning over his shoulder to look at the screen.

Wolfgang nodded and his fingers flew over the keys once again before he found what she was looking for. "Ah, here we go. It looks like they already assigned a home team to track you down," he grinned. "SKY… ever heard of them?"

"No, of course not," she grumbled. _They've already assigned a team to capture me, clearly they're taking me seriously,_ she sighed to herself.

"Well, I can't find the makeup of the team… but it looks like they have a good track record," he said, eyes flitting over the screen.

"There's no such thing as a 'bad' track record when it comes to Lionheart's operatives. It's perfect or nothing," she growled. "Does it say what sort of countermeasures they've taken against me?"

"No, it doesn't… but it looks like someone's accessed your top-secret file and printed off a picture of you," he said. "So… I'm guessing they're going to make the public aware of your existence."

"Well… Lionheart's taking no chances with me," she growled. "He's risking the public learning of his secret just to restrict my movements."

"What are you going to do?" he asked, glancing up at her.

"I'll have to lay low tonight," she sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought hard. "We should focus our efforts on our targets. We need to find the hyenas' base of operations."

"Well…" he trailed off, paws hovering over the keyboard. "I'm not sure how to help with that. Do we have any leads?"

"No… the hyenas that Judy arrested were extremely unhelpful," she growled. "All I know is that their base of operations moves around… and that they're disjointed."

"So the force is separated around the city?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As far as I can tell, that seems to be the case. It means they'll be able to use the smaller nooks and crannies of the city as cover to keep them from the public eye," she sighed. "They'll be difficult to track down, and there's no telling how many 'nests' there are."

"Well… if taking them all down at once isn't an option, then what are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm going to cut off the head of the snake," she growled. "I'm going to find the Matriarch and kill her. Without her, the clan should fall into shambles."

"The _Matriarch_?" Wolfgang asked with a raised eyebrow. "Is that what you really call your leader?"

"She's not my leader," Blank snarled. "And yes… she's the biggest, toughest, strongest female in the clan. And she and I don't exactly get along."

"Sounds like you two have a history," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Thankfully, it's a very short history. I'm not around my species very often, so I don't have to deal with her much at all," she sighed. "In any case, finding and killing her is our first goal. After that, the others will start to make mistakes, and we can take them down one-by-one."

"That sounds like it could take a while… are you sure you'll be able to do that and avoid SKY at the same time?" he asked.

"It's my only option," she sighed. "As long as we're careful and only leave this room when we absolutely have to, we should be fine."

"You don't sound very confident," he said, shutting the laptop.

"I'm not…" she grumbled.

"Well… is there something I could do to cheer you up?" he asked, looking up at her again with a small smirk. Even though he was sitting down, she was only barely taller than him. "Preferably something that involves you taking off those pants?"

"Well… since I'm trapped in this room for the rest of the day, I don't see why not," she shrugged, slowly slipping out of her pants in a teasing display. "You up for another all-nighter?"

"For you, babe… anything," he grinned.

XXX

Judy let out a sigh as she stood on top of the podium Bogo used to address his officers in the Bullpen. It had taken a few minutes to get all the currently active officers into the Bullpen, but they all sat with wide eyes, staring at the little bunny standing on top of the podium. Judy had needed Nick's help to get onto the damn thing, and she was eternally grateful that she had decided to have Nick help her up first, _before_ he went about gathering the other officers.

Judy cleared her throat as she looked out over the small crowd. Many of the officers were out of commission still, only a handful, not including her or Nick, were awake. "I'm just going to cut to the chase," Judy said, glancing at Nick to see him giving her a thumbs up. "I have been named chief of police."

She would be lying if she had said she hadn't been expecting any complaints. She knew that there would be officers that would have questions, and somehow in the back of her mind, she figured that several may even quit. They had come to respect her, sure… but that was only when they were working with her. She had no idea if that respect would hold if she was leading them.

But… what she hadn't expected was for the remaining officers to stand uniformly and raise their paws or hooves in a salute, a gesture that bolstered her confidence immensely. They refrained from cheering, as they were all still worried about Bogo, but they knew that if he didn't make it, this little rabbit would be leading them. And they had the upmost confidence in her abilities. What Judy didn't know was that the officers more than respected her… they trusted her. And they believed in her. She had earned that much, at least.

So Judy did the only thing she could do, she raised her own paw in a salute. She couldn't help the smile on her face, and the grin only got wider as she saw Nick joining in on the salute. He wasn't even remotely sarcastic about it like he would have been with Bogo.

But eventually she lowered her paw, as did the other officers. She waited until they retook their seats before addressing them again. "Thank you all for your support, and I, like many of you, certainly hope that this is only a temporary position," she said. "But unfortunately, we cannot spend our days worrying about Bogo… we have work to do."

She sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "Many of you are likely wondering who attacked the precinct, knocking out many of our comrades, and putting Bogo out of commission. Luckily… or unluckily, I know who did it," she said, before holding up the file J had given her. "Many of you remember a few days ago when we became aware of the hyena mercenaries that were attacking the city… and I said that there was a rogue hyena slaughtering her own kind. Unfortunately… she was the one who assaulted this building."

Judy's ears fell as the officers let out sounds of outrage. A scowl began to form on Nick's face as he remembered what Blank had done to him and Judy. The rabbit didn't enjoy ousting the hyena like this… it felt wrong. But she let her comrades in blue continue to shout in rage.

"Listen!" she shouted after a few minutes, silencing the other officers. "I know many of you are angry at the rogue hyena, that we are calling Blank. But it is very important that you look at this picture of her as well as her description… and if you see her, _do not engage!_ I cannot stress this enough… Blank is one of the most dangerous mammals alive."

Judy watched as the officers scoffed at the rabbit. Bunnies were generally believed to be afraid of everything, and although Judy had certainly proved herself to be different than the average bunny, they didn't believe her claim. No rational mammal would believe her claim. Only Nick seemed to understand, shaking his head the other officers.

"I know many of you have seen the news report that aired this morning of the courtyard filled with dead hyena bodies. The reporters were unable to explain what species the mammals were, nor how they had died. However… as all of you knew the moment you saw that special, they were hyenas. Hundreds of the most feared mercenaries on the planet," Judy crossed her arms. "I will assure you, Blank slaughtered nearly all of them single-handedly. She has proven herself to be able to handle multiple ZPD officers at the same time _with her bare paws._ "

The officers gulped as they remembered what had happened to Fangmeyer, Delgato, Wolfard, and Summers. They had thought that the officers had just been caught off guard. Their rage had seemingly vanished as they glanced at each other, nervousness now entrenched in each of their eyes.

"With that being said…" Judy spoke up again. "We cannot allow Blank's crimes to go unpunished! No matter how dangerous she may be, if we all work together, then we will be able to arrest her, and try her for her crimes."

"She killed hundreds of the best mercenaries in the world… so tell me, how the hell are a couple dozen of us officers supposed to fight _that?_ " a voice from the back of the room called out.

The rabbit let out a sigh. She knew that this moment was coming. "Because we are no longer unarmed," she explained. "Lionheart has passed a new law… all ZPD officers eight feet tall and under are now permitted to carry firearms."

Murmurs of surprise were exchanged throughout the officers. "If you are under eight feet tall, with your ears flat against your head, you are now permitted to carry a gun," Judy said, making sure she got her point across. "Because there is no ZPD standard at the moment, Lionheart is allowing you all to go out and purchase your own weapons. Or you may take from the few that we have stored here in the armory."

The officers glanced at each other once again before letting out whoops of excitement. They had been waiting for this day for a long time. Most of them had never even held a firearm, so this was a completely new experience for them. Judy, however, could only frown at the unhinged enthusiasm that was flowing throughout the officers, even Nick seemed to be getting caught up in it as he fist-bumped McHorn next to him.

" _However!_ " Judy cleared her throat again. "While Lionheart may be able to pass a law allowing most of you to carry guns, _I_ get to set the rules on it. And while the bill neglected to mention training, I will not allow a single one of you to carry a firearm unless you put in at least an hour of training at the range by the end of today. Wilde, that means you too."

"Wha?!" Nick exclaimed, jaw dropping open as he gaped at Judy. He had been a responsible gun user since he joined the ZPD, why would she rope him in with the others?

"No buts, Wilde, I'm not exempt from this either," Judy said, smirking slightly at the fox's expression. "Wilde and I will make sure that you all are handling your firearms properly and that the hour you spend at the range today will be productive enough to ensure the safety of not only you, but innocent civilians and your comrades. Wilde and I need to make sure that we have three hours by the end of the month, every month, so you all will follow that rule as well. Any questions?"

"But the end of the month is coming up soon!" a lion officer called out.

"Then you'd better put your three hours in by then, or you lose your privilege to carry," Judy growled. "Anything else?"

"No, chief!" the officers chorused.

"Good," Judy said, hopping off the podium. "Everyone over eight feet tall, go and tend to the sleeping. When they wake up, explain to them what's happening, and send anyone under eight feet tall to the firing range to catch up. The rest of you, with me!"

XXX

 **Ah… wow, you all have no idea how easy this chapter was to write. I'm super motivated right now, I haven't been this motivated since the Blank vs hyena army fight a few chapters back. Unfortunately, I won't be posting next week. Today is special (and for those of you reading both this and Immoral will already know) I posted a chapter for both my stories today. Mostly because I knew I wouldn't be able to post next week anyways. So I apologize for that.**

 **Anyways, just a few things before I leave you. First thing is that I'd like to apologize for the blocks of text in this chapter. I tried to break it up as much as I could, but with both Lionheart's speech, and Judy's speech… well, I didn't have much of a choice. Hopefully you all enjoy reading them though. And to USA Patriot, yes, I did do a little bit of research for the weapons that Wolfgang got Blank this chapter. In particular, the Ithaca shotgun… I was looking around on YouTube, and saw the DemolitionRanch video on it, and I sorta fell in love with the idea of slam-fire. So I didn't have much choice but to include it! For those of you who don't know what slam-fire is, it's basically when you can hold down the trigger of a shotgun, and just keep pumping it to fire. It's not quite full or semi auto, but it is faster than a regular pump shotgun. Anyways, stay tuned until next time to see what happens next!**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25 - Maelstrom:

Author's Note:

 **Yikes… my schedule is not looking good. I'm a little surprised I even had the time to write and edit this chapter to release today. Unfortunately, it's looking like releasing chapters is going to be getting more and more difficult… I'll still release on Saturdays, but every other week is becoming too difficult to maintain.**

 **But on the brighter side… USA Patriot, thank you for reviewing! I'm glad lots of people seem to be enjoying the relationship blossoming between Blank and Wolfgang… I hadn't expected it to happen, but it's happening. As for whether or not Blank and Wolfgang are protagonists or antagonists, their role shifts over the course of the story. I guess 'antihero' is an apt description, but you might change your mind in a few chapters. And while I like Deadpool, I still think the Punisher is a better description for Blank.**

 **As for your comment about the 'M60 rounds,' yeah, I do know that they're not technically called that. But saying 7.62 NATO wasn't rolling off the tongue, so I decided to go with something else. I meant to edit that, actually, and say 'rounds for your M60,' but I missed it during my run-through. As for the amount of training, Judy just said three hours because that's how much she and Nick need to put in each week. Because they barely need to use their firearms (in fact, Judy had never even shot at someone until a few chapters ago), three hours was probably sufficient. But there's a chance that after the hyena issue has been dealt with, all officers will start needing to put in more hours at the range.**

 **Anyways, with all that being said… it's time to move on. I'm a little torn about telling you all what's going on from the start, or just tossing you all in. Ah… if I tell you, it'll probably ruin it. So I'll just say, 'the italics are for a reason.' Please, enjoy!**

XXX

 _Dreary didn't even begin to describe it. Normally at this time of night, the moon stood high in the sky, however, a massive black cloud hung over Zootopia, blocking out the moon's light. Rain poured from the cloud as winds ripped through the city, sending its inhabitants scurrying for cover._

 _Despite Zootopia being a city that hardly ever slept, its streets were silent and barren. Only the sound of rain droplets shattering against the ground and wind blowing away anything that wasn't nailed down echoed throughout the empty streets. The wind was so ferocious in fact, many believed that a tornado was likely to touch down some time during the night._

 _Normally, a little bit of rain and a strong breeze wouldn't be enough to deter criminals from committing crimes. Even the threat of a tornado typically wasn't enough to stop a determined felon. However, tonight's storm was an exception._

 _Instincts that had been sharpened over millions of years screamed so loudly at the mammals that not even the stupid or insane could ignore it. Something bad was going to happen. And it was for this reason, as the night stretched on and the storm got even worse, that a single cloaked figure stepped out of an apartment building and into the storm._

 _He or she, it was impossible to tell with the cloak, or rather, black poncho covering its face. It clutched the poncho tightly as it braved the rain and wind, resolute in its quest. It marched forwards, doing its best to keep the wind from blowing it off its feet. It was clearly fighting its instincts just as much as the wind, as it seemed to hesitate after each firm step._

 _The creature walked by buildings both huge and small completely unnoticed. Everyone was too afraid of the possibility of a tornado to stand near a window to see the small, cloaked figure braving the storm, let alone wonder where it was going or why it was so imperative to go now._

 _Lightning crackled in the sky, causing the figure to pause and look up in time to see a bolt of energy leap from the sky, striking a lightning rod on a tall building. The figure shivered involuntarily as a clap of thunder echoed soon after the lightning strike. The cloaked figure licked its lips before pushing forward once again. The sound had shaken it out of its stupor, reminding it that it needed to get moving. The longer it stayed out, the more dangerous it became._

 _Unfortunately, its destination was quite a ways away. But at least the tempest wasn't blowing it back every time it took a step. The figure was making consistent progress as it weathered the torrent, inching ever closer to its destination. It gripped the poncho harder as the wind tried to tear it off. The figure quickened its pace as the storm relented ever so slightly, sensing that this minor relief was only short lived._

 _And short lived it was, as a new gust screamed through the city mere minutes later, nearly knocking the figure off its feet when it did. But it was too late for the storm. The figure had arrived, and it stood strong against the howling wind. A trio of buildings shared a small parking lot on the outskirts of Sahara Square._

 _But the figure was only interested in the middle building. Completely ignoring the other two, it entered the middle building and let out a sigh of relief from the shelter it provided. Despite the 'closed' sign hanging in the window of the building, the door opened just fine, even if the first room was pitch black._

 _The figure removed the hood of the poncho, but didn't take the whole thing off, letting its ears stand tall on its head. Taking a deep breath, the figure forged forward into the darkness, making its way through the pitch-black room with ease. It walked with impunity, as if it had walked through the room a thousand times before, and easily finding a door in the darkness as if it could see._

 _Opening the door to let in a burst of light, its eyes narrowed in the brightness. But they quickly adjusted, allowing the figure to press forward once again. It walked passed the glass cages, its breath catching in its throat, the only sign that it knew what was in those cages as the figure made its way towards the back wall of the second room in the building._

 _The figure could hear snoring in another room of the building, the sound of some great beast resting for an oncoming battle perhaps. It chose to ignore the sound and focus on the massive glass cage resting against the back of the wall. Like all the other cages in the room, it was raised a good two feet off the ground on steel legs._

 _The lights were dim, but the figure could make out something moving in the shadows of the cage. A sense of calm washed over the figure as that something rose up slightly, revealing its hooded head to the figure in the light. "I've been waiting for you," the hooded figure hissed._

 _"_ _I know," the poncho-wearing figure muttered as it began removing the waterproof covering, revealing the simple white t-shirt and jeans it wore. Despite the protective poncho, the figure's clothes were still damp. "I don't understand why… but I can feel it. And that's why I came."_

 _"_ _You don't understand why I've been waiting… or why you can feel it?" the shadow asked, its green eyes seemingly narrowing without its eyelids ever moving._

 _"_ _Both, in some way, I suppose," the no longer cloaked figure sighed as it sat down on the ground. The ground was made up of uncomfortable concrete, but after a few seconds of shifting, it became bearable._

 _"_ _The moment I saw you, you became engraved in my mind… like a carving on the side of a mountain. And you did the same," the caged figure chuckled. It was difficult to place, because of the harsh hisses that came out of its mouth, but the shadow seemed to be male._

 _"_ _Did I? Why… why did that happen?" the sitting mammal's purple eyes widened slightly._

 _"_ _I… may have rewritten your instincts slightly," the hooded figure admitted. "You were afraid of me… I didn't know what else to do."_

 _The purple-eyed mammal looked down at its feet. "I suppose I didn't enjoy being afraid," it admitted. "So this…_ _ **pull**_ _I've been feeling is due to your meddling?"_

 _"_ _Yes," the shadow admitted. "But it's not irresistible… it's just a tugging in the back of your mind."_

 _"_ _That won't ever go away," the sitting figure sighed._

 _"_ _Is that why you came?" the shadow asked. It seemed to frown, but its lips never curved from its wicked smile. "Because I can take it all away… I can embed fear within you once again, and the pull will disappear."_

 _"_ _That's not why I came," the figure shook its head. "No… I was just curious. Curious as to what happened to me and my fear."_

 _"_ _Only curious?" the shadow snickered. "You braved such a dangerous storm… just to satisfy your inner cat?"_

 _"_ _Don't try and sound disappointed," the sitting mammal huffed, crossing its arms. "You already told me you wanted to see me… and I have questions, so I figured 'storm be damned.'"_

 _"_ _Questions?"_

 _"_ _How?"_

 _"_ _How what?"_

 _"_ _I already asked why… now I am asking how."_

 _"_ _How?" the shadow asked. He seemed to think for a moment, his tongue flicking out of his mouth as he did._

 _"_ _Are you going to tell me?" the mammal asked, raising an eyebrow._

 _"_ _I don't think that I should," the shadow replied, almost sighing._

 _"_ _Tell me anyways," the mammal demanded, pushing itself off the floor and crossing its arms._

 _The shadow's green eyes seemingly narrowed once again without actually changing, before he let out a hissing cackle. Rearing his head off the floor of his cage, he stretched his neck as far as he could until it poked out of the top of the cage. The now standing mammal's purple eyes widened as it watched the shadow creep out of the cage, tongue flicking in and out the entire way._

 _The purple-eyed mammal took a step backwards as the green-eyed shadow landed gracefully on the floor, the rest of its body following behind it as it curled up on the concrete. The shadow regarded the mammal, its eyes shining with mirth as it extended its head so it was on level with the mammal's. Its wicked grin seemed to become even more sinister as it let out a loud yawn, revealing sharp fangs._

 _"_ _Telling you would ruin the magic," the shadow chuckled in its hissing sort of way._

 _"_ _Is it magic?" the mammal immediately asked, fear once again gone as it looked into the green eyes of the creature._

 _"_ _No, don't be silly," the creature snickered._

 _"_ _I have a feeling… that the longer I stare into your eyes, the clearer the answer will become," the purple-eyed figure admitted, not looking away from the creature's eyes._

 _"_ _Observant, I see," he chuckled. "Very well, then… yes, my eyes contain a certain… hypnotic appeal."_

 _"_ _So it_ _ **is**_ _magic," the mammal deadpanned._

 _"_ _Nonsense! It's closer to science than magic," he growled, his tone darkening._

 _"_ _Sure," the mammal rolled its eyes. "How does it work?"_

 _"_ _Do I really need to answer that?" the shadow sighed, flicking its tongue out again. "In any case, I'm surprised you haven't asked the obvious question yet."_

 _"_ _Maybe because I'm afraid of the answer," the mammal admitted._

 _"_ _Indulge me," the shadow commanded, it's tongue flicking out again. "I indulged you, after all…"_

 _"_ _Fine," the mammal huffed. "Why… are… you?"_

 _"_ _Why am I? Why, for the same reason why you are, of course! Why is anything, for that matter?" he seemingly smirked. "Why not how instead? You might get better results with how."_

 _"_ _You seem to have put quite a bit of thought into this," the mammal grumbled, crossing its arms._

 _"_ _I think about this every day… I have nothing else to do in that cage," the shadow somehow shrugged. "Come now, ask away!"_

 _"_ _And you're certainly excited…" the mammal rolled its purple eyes. "Fine then…_ _ **how**_ _-"_

 _"_ _Actually I've changed my mind," the shadow interrupted the mammal. "The answer to how is far too similar to why for my scent. Try a different question."_

 _"_ _I didn't want to ask in the first place!" the mammal snarled, glaring at the shadow. "If you want to tell me something you want me to know, then just tell me. I won't go looking for the right questions to ask for information I don't want."_

 _"_ _Information that you don't want yet," the shadow chuckled its hissing laugh. "Tell me, you came here with questions of why and how I pulled you here, is that all you wanted to know?"_

 _"_ _That's all I wanted to know," the mammal nodded, crossing its arms again. "I only came here to get you out of my head… and now that I know that's impossible, I'll just have to live with ignoring you."_

 _"_ _Oh dear…" the green-eyed creature sighed. "Those aren't the right questions at all… and here I thought you were smart."_

 _"_ _Smart? How could you possibly know_ _ **anything**_ _about me?!" the mammal growled, narrowing its eyes at the hooded figure._

 _The shadow's reaction was as surprising as it was immediate. He reared up before pressing his face so close to the mammal's that it was almost touching… reminding the purple-eyed mammal that dangerous fangs hid within his mouth. "I know_ _ **everything**_ _about you," he hissed. "I know your name, where you work, where you live… I know what you do and what you don't do. Everything."_

 _The mammal swallowed hard as it did its best not to flinch away from the shadow. It wanted desperately to ask how… how the creature knew. But it doubted he would tell. "That explains why you weren't asking questions," the mammal muttered._

 _The green-eyed creature seemed to smirk again as its tongue flicked out of its mouth once again, slapping the mammal on its nose. "Indeed," he hissed that chuckle once more, before pulling away from the mammal and relaxing again._

 _"_ _But you're not the only one who knows a lot about the other," the mammal said, squaring its shoulders, and cracking its knuckles as it regained its composure. "I know your habitat… your height and weight… even your diet. And I_ _ **know**_ _, for instance, that you're a cannibal. So why… why did you kill those rodents?"_

 _"_ _So… you figured it out?" the shadow seemed to frown again. "Whoever told you that I was a cannibal is extremely misinformed."_

 _"_ _Yeah, I figured it out… it wasn't too hard, once I met you," the mammal admitted, managing a smirk on its face. "And my source is incredibly well informed… he had been studying your species for years."_

 _"_ _A savage, perhaps!" the shadow snarled, its green eyes hardening into a glare. "Only a savage would cannibalize its own species!"_

 _"_ _And yet you have no problem killing and eating mine," the mammal hissed._

 _"_ _No! No… no I don't," the shadow returned the hiss, his tongue flicking out of his mouth angrily. "They can burn for all I care."_

 _"_ _Some civilized animal you are," the mammal huffed, rolling its eyes. "And quite the hypocrite as well."_

 _"_ _Oh? Tell me, then… what would happen if you leaked what I was to your mayor?" the shadow hissed. "They would march to this building with pitchforks and torches, ready to burn me. They are just as scared of me as I am of them… and that is why we cannot coexist."_

 _"_ _But… if that was true… then wouldn't we have snuffed out any chances you had at evolution?" the purple-eyed figure asked, ears flattening on its back._

 _"_ _You cannot watch every corner of the Earth… no matter how advanced you seem to be," the shadow snickered. "We arose in some dark corner of the planet, right underneath your noses. And now… it is our time to rise."_

 _"_ _What if I told the mayor about you and your…_ _ **brethren**_ _right now?" the mammal asked, taking a step backwards. It still wasn't afraid, no… it still couldn't be afraid. "I'm sure he'd be delighted to know about you."_

 _The green-eyed creature let out another hissing chuckle, before rearing its head back. Before the purple-eyed mammal could even react, he shot forward at an intense speed. His slender body wrapped around the mammal's, locking it in a coil of scales. "The empire of mammals_ _ **will**_ _fall," he hissed, squeezing the mammal a bit tighter as he opened his mouth, revealing his glistening fangs. "And you will be my queen…"_

XXX

Nick let out a low groan as he felt something kick against him. Doing his best to ignore it, he let out a yawn and tried to go back to sleep, only for that something to kick him again. His eyes blinked open slowly and spotted Judy tossing and turning next to him. She had somehow wriggled out of his grip and was now squirming on the bed next to him, her eyes screwed shut and her legs kicking every few minutes.

Nick's tired mind struggled to catch up to the scene he was looking at, but he snapped back online once Judy kicked him in the chest again. Tiredness forgotten, Nick sat up with a worried look on his face. Leaning over slightly, he put a paw on the bunny's shoulder, hoping that would be enough to wake her up, or get her to calm down.

It wasn't enough, however, as the paw on her shoulder only made her struggle harder. Growing concerned, and somehow even more confused when he realized that her fur was cold and damp, as if she had been in the rain, he put his other paw on her other shoulder and started shaking her. "Carrots, hey, Carrots!" he called out, hoping to rouse her from her slumber.

Judy's eyes snapped open as she sat up to glare at Nick through bloodshot eyes. "What?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"You were tossing and turning," the fox replied, removing his paws from her shoulders. He wiped his paws again his shirt, as they had managed to absorb a bit of moisture from her fur. It wasn't warm like sweat… it was cold.

"S-s-so?" the bunny asked, her teeth suddenly beginning to clatter together. A shiver passed up her spine as she hugged her chest with her arms. Seeing Nick's worried look, she stuttered out, "I-I'm c-c-cold!"

"I noticed that you fur was all damp," Nick said, grabbing the blanket, and did his best to wrap it around Judy. "What did you do last night?" The duo had fallen asleep together after a long day of training their comrades in the use of firearms, with her in his arms, so she must've gotten up in the middle of the night.

"I-I don't k-know," she admitted, shivering violently. "I d-don't remember l-l-leaving you're a-arms!"

"Well that's a conundrum," he muttered, placing the back of his paw against her forehead. Although he was very curious as to how she had gotten like this, right now he was more concerned about her catching something. But her forehead, like the rest of her body, was damp and cold. He couldn't feel any fever coming off of her. "Well… I don't think you're sick."

"I-I don't f-feel sick, j-j-just really c-cold," she replied, trying to wrap the blankets even tighter around herself.

"That's good… we wouldn't want chief bunny getting sick, would we?" Nick couldn't help but smirk.

"N-no… we w-w-wouldn't," Judy muttered, doing her best to glare at the fox.

"Then we should focus on warming you up!" Nick grinned as he rolled out of bed. He snatched his phone off his bedside table and glanced at the time. It was half past five, which means they had two hours until they needed to get ready to go to work. Pocketing his phone, he headed towards the hallway. "I'm going to turn up the thermostat."

Judy remained silent, focusing more on containing her shivering, as Nick made his way into the hallway and found the thermostat. He checked it over, briefly wondering if it was broken and his thick fur was protecting him from the cold. But the thermostat was fine, and even if it wasn't, he doubted his coat would've made him unable to feel the cold at all. He turned the thermostat from a comfortable seventy-one up to eighty-five, hoping that he wouldn't have to set it any higher than that.

He made his way back into his room, deciding to shed his shirt as he did. He wouldn't need it when the apartment started heating up. But Judy still sat on his bed shivering uncontrollably. "Are you sure you're okay, Judy?" Nick asked as he pulled himself up onto the bed next to her.

"F-fine… j-just c-cold!" Judy stuttered out again, before looking over at the fox to see him shirtless. Doing her best to look aghast, she asked, "W-why aren't y-you w-wearing your shirt?"

"I turned the temperature up, Carrots, you may be cold, but I'd rather not get heatstroke," he chuckled as she turned away from him, a barely visible red tinge on her cheeks. "Oh come on, don't be afraid to look."

She ignored him for over a minute, the only sound coming from her being the chattering of her teeth. But, only a moment later, her ears sprung upwards and she slowly turned to look at him, the red on her cheeks intensifying. "W-wait… Nick, t-that's it! P-p-press me a-against your c-ch-chest!" she exclaimed.

"Are you sure the hypothermia hasn't damaged your brain?" Nick grinned, but didn't hesitate in unwrapping the bunny and pressing her against his chest, before lying down and pulling the blankets over them. The idea was simple, trying to warm her up with his body heat. But it still didn't sound like an idea _she_ would suggest. It sounded more like something he would come up with, and she would reluctantly agree when neither of them could think of a better option.

But then again, she was quickly becoming more forward with him. "I-it's not hy-hypothermia… j-just cold," she replied, relaxing in his hold. Typically when they fell asleep together at night, he held her in a loose grip, not pressing her tight against his chest. But now she needed to be as close as possible to him.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Nick asked, shivering slightly as he felt her cold, damp fur against his. She pressed her face against his chest, burying her head in the cream-colored fur there.

"With you, the blanket, and the heater, it should," the bunny replied, her stutter already gone, though she was still shivering. But not nearly as violently.

"Carrots, you're starting to make me cold too," the fox said, shivering again. Although he was enjoying her attempt to become one with his fur, she was like a little ice cube, and the effects were starting to get to him.

"Am I?" she asked, pulling away to look up at him, revealing the even deeper blush on her face. Even her ears had started to turn scarlet. But a sly smile slowly rose onto her face as she realized that her stutter was gone. Hugging up against him was indeed working… but it would be unfair for her to get warmer at the cost of him getting colder. "Maybe I should get rid of these damp clothes," she smirked.

"Uh… Carrots?" Nick asked, his eyes widening slightly. He hadn't expected her to suggest that!

"Yeah… after all, sharing body heat is supposed to be a two-way street… I can't share mine with these damp clothes in the way," Judy chuckled as her paws grasped the bottom of the tank top she had chosen to wear to bed.

"Carrots…" the fox trailed off as she removed her shirt, tossing it aside onto the floor. He bit his lip when he realized that she wasn't wearing a bra, revealing her small breasts to him. "Uh… Judy?" he tried again, only for the rabbit to roll onto her back and grasp the hem of the athletic short shorts she was wearing. Once more, a protest died in his throat as she slipped the shorts slowly off her shapely legs, and tossed them next to her shirt.

She shivered again as the air met her bare fur, but the heater was doing its job. The air was getting warmer, allowing her to contain her shivering. "Ah… this should work better now," she sighed as she rolled back over and pressed herself against the fox's chest.

In all honesty, she had no idea what she was doing. She had practically given Nick a striptease! But she knew that this would help both of them, and the fox certainly seemed to have enjoyed it… he couldn't take his eyes off her. Maybe that speech she had given earlier today had given her confidence, or maybe she was just desperate to get another hour or two of sleep, but she didn't complain as Nick wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her even tighter against him.

 _Down, boy,_ he growled to himself when he felt his manhood begin to slip out of its sheath. He curled up around her, his fluffy tail resting next to her head, before pulling the blankets over them. It took a heroic amount of willpower not to let his paws wander, but he managed it. After all, he didn't want to ruin this for her. But, while she quickly fell back asleep, he was unable to even shut his eyes as they hungrily devoured her nude form. He didn't get another wink of sleep.

XXX

 **Ah, there we go! I would first like to apologize profusely for taking so long with this chapter. School and whatnot. These chapters are harder to write and edit than you think, and the… 'dream sequence' was especially challenging. Anyways… with all that being said, I'd like to say a few things about the chapter.**

 **First, the 'dream sequence.' The reason I put that in quotation marks is because it's up to you if it is or isn't a dream sequence. It could be… and it could not be. In any case, I certainly hope that it wasn't** ** _too_** **confusing, and that you all were able to catch all the little goodies I hid in that section. There's a lot of interesting wordplay there. But don't think too hard on the section… this entire chapter isn't really the most important. I just wanted to have a little fun.**

 **And the second section really encapsulates that. I hope. Once again, Nick and Judy get close to actually fucking, and yet they don't. I wonder if and when they might actually get it on. In any case, this is another section you probably shouldn't think too hard on. It's just meant to push their relationship forward a bit. Though I am curious if you think Nick should've went for it… or maybe he'll make a move in the morning?**

 **Next chapter shouldn't take three (or was it four…) weeks to write, edit, and post. At least I certainly hope it doesn't. Stay tuned until next time to see what happens!**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26 – Another Look:

Author's Note:

 **I'm just going to go straight into the reviews, USA Patriot, thank you for reviewing again! So, first off, I hope you did well on the ACT, I remember that test, and studying for it too. So, I think there was a little misunderstanding between what you read and what I was trying to convey. You said in your review that the snake was calling the figure a cannibal/killer when it was the other way around… it was the figure calling the snake (a king cobra, mind you) a cannibal/killer. At least, unless I didn't make a mistake in that section. But I'm glad that your mind didn't immediately jump to Judy… it wasn't supposed to be super obvious.**

 **Ah, I wish I had more to say, but I don't. I'm just glad this chapter didn't take so long to write, otherwise you might not have seen this chapter until Thanksgiving! Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Two hours had never passed so quickly for Nick. One moment there was a fluffy little bunny curling up next to him, her breathing evening out as she fell asleep, and the next minute, alarms were blaring. The fox didn't get a single wink of sleep, as he was too busy taking in the sight and the feeling of the naked bunny pressed up against him. He didn't need sleep with her next to him.

Judy had stopped shivering almost the moment she fell asleep again. Her fur no longer felt wet or cold either. Clearly sharing their body heat and turning up the temperature of the apartment had worked for her. Judy was so warm and comfortable, in fact, that she refused to open her eyes, even though the alarms had jostled her awake.

 _It really should be a crime to wake her,_ Nick chuckled internally as he watched her eyebrows furrow as she fought to stay asleep. But eventually Nick decided they had burned enough daylight and put his paw on her shoulder, gently shaking her in an attempt to wake her up.

Letting out a loud yawn, Judy's eyes slowly popped open. Grumbling slightly, she looked up to see Nick staring down at her. They stared at each other for a few minutes, Judy doing her best to comprehend where she was and why she was so comfortable. Eventually, Judy let out a simple, "Good morning," as a greeting.

"Morning, Fluff," Nick replied a moment later, a smirk rising onto his face. "How are you feeling?"

"Warm… very warm," she answered. "Maybe a little too warm…"

"Well, I did jack the thermostat up an extra fourteen degrees," he chuckled. "What happened last night?"

"I have no idea… I just woke up really, really cold," she shrugged, pulling away from him, to his disappointment. "As if I had gone for a long walk in the rain."

"Well, the forecast didn't call for rain last night… maybe you took a cold shower and forgot about it," he suggested with a smirk.

"Why would I have taken a cold shower?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe you got all hot and bothered last night from lying next to me, so you needed to cool off," he chuckled.

"Please, Nick, I slept next to you naked for two hours and I'm not hot and bothered at all," Judy rolled her eyes as she slipped off the bed. She found the outfit she was wearing last night scattered across the floor. She picked up the outfit, noting the fact that it was still damp, but no longer cold, before tossing it in a nearby hamper.

"Well, I can dream, can't I?" the fox smirked as he rolled out of bed. "Not that I did a lot of dreaming last night."

"What does that mean?" Judy asked as she padded over to her dresser and began picking out a clean uniform.

"It means it's very 'hard' to sleep next to your cute, naked, fluffy butt," Nick snickered slightly as he too went to find a clean uniform.

Judy rolled her eyes at the cute comment, but decided against berating him. There was almost no point in doing so, especially when she knew it was a compliment. "Maybe you're the one who should take a cold shower," she suggested.

"That might be a good idea, actually," he admitted a moment later as he found a clean uniform. _I need to run a load of laundry,_ he noted internally. "Think you'll be okay for breakfast without me?"

"I think I can handle cereal, Nick," she chuckled as she slipped on the fresh uniform. She decided she would take a shower after work today.

"Just making sure, Fluff," the fox said as he headed towards the bathroom. The bunny headed in the opposite direction towards the kitchen instead. She found the cereal box as her large ears caught the sound of the shower being turned on.

Fixing herself a small bowl of cereal, she found a spoon, before heading towards the couch. She got comfortable and flicked on the television, flipping through the channels until she found the news.

"And the hunt is still on, folks! In case you're just joining us, about three days ago, Mr. Big launched one of the largest private investigations in Zootopian history. After one hundred and fifty-eight million dollars was stolen from him, the mob boss offered a reward of fifteen percent of the stolen goods to the man or woman who could find the money and return it to him," the female snow leopard reported.

Judy's eyebrows furrowed as she watched the news. She knew that Mr. Big had been robbed, but she hadn't known that he had offered _fifteen_ percent to the one who could find his stolen cash. Apparently, Mr. Big wasn't patient enough to wait for the police to investigate themselves.

"For those of you bad at math, that's over twenty-three million dollars!" the snow leopard continued. "While no one has yet found the money, new developments have yielded the culprit, Duke Weaselton! How Duke Weaselton managed to get into the vault or how he managed to get away almost unseen is currently unknown, but the exploit Weaselton apparently used has been fixed, according to the bank. Weaselton himself was found dead a few days ago in Little Rodentia, and despite scouring the entirety of Little Rodentia, the money has yet to be found."

 _Weaselton?_ Judy's eyes widened as she watched the TV. She was so entranced that she missed the shower turning off and Nick exiting the bathroom. Thankfully he was fully dressed as he padded into the living room. _That explains why that weasel was in Little Rodentia…_

Nick fixed himself a bowl of cereal as well before plopping down on the couch right next to Judy. The bunny either didn't notice or didn't react as she was too busy watching the television. "I guess we'll just have to stay tuned to see if the money, and the reward, is ever recovered. Back to you, Peter," the news anchor said.

"Don't you think that's a little suspicious?" Judy spoke up the moment the new switched from the snow leopard to the moose anchor for a different story.

"What's a little suspicious, Carrots?" Nick asked, continuing to munch on his cereal.

"Duke Weaselton… he had just stolen from Mr. Big when he ran into Little Rodentia, only to meet the business end of a snake," the bunny muttered. "How could one mammal be so lucky to discover a way into Mr. Big's vault, only to die moments later?"

"No clue, Fluff, but I think I get where you're going with this," the fox said, a small grin spreading across his face. "You think this was a setup, right?"

"It's a distinct possibility," she grinned in return. "I think we should take another look at the crime scene."

"Whatever you say, Carrots, I'm just wondering what you're going to tell J," he chuckled. "He won't be happy about you abandoning the hunt for Blank to investigate an unrelated crime scene."

"Don't worry your fluffy tail, Slick, I've got an idea," Judy grinned.

XXX

"Hey, are you alright?" Wolfgang's voice cut through the fog surrounding Blank's mind, causing her to blink a few times. She slowly turned her head to look at the wolf who was just sitting up next to her. "You've been staring at the television for the past twenty minutes… and the TV is off."

"Sorry… I'm just thinking," Blank muttered as she went back to staring at the blank screen. "And besides… you were staring at me for the past twenty minutes."

"Oh, you caught that?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck with a soft chuckle.

"I could feel your gaze on the side of my head, yes," she nodded, not looking back at him as she stared at the TV.

"My gaze is naturally drawn to beauty, so I'm not apologizing," he smirked.

"Oh, cram it, Romeo," she replied, rolling her eyes. "But since I can't focus anymore, what's up?"

He chuckled slightly at the Romeo comment. _If only she knew…_ he sighed internally. "Oh, nothing much," he answered. "What were you thinking about?"

"Hidey holes," Blank replied, before rolling off the bed. She cracked her neck in both directions before grabbing the remote to flick on the TV. Surfing channels for a few minutes, she eventually decided on the news.

"Uh… what?" Wolfgang asked, unable to stop himself from licking his lips at the sight the hyena was giving him. She was very hard to resist when presented in all her naked glory.

"I've been trying to think of all the different places the hyena mercenaries could hide throughout the city," Blank responded. "But so far I've just been coming up empty."

"Wouldn't 'blank' be a better word?" the white wolf couldn't help but interject. The hyena whirled around to glare at him, but he only smirked. He wasn't afraid of her, and she knew it.

"Puns aside," she hissed. "I've still got nothing. And unless we can figure out where the Matriarch is hiding, we'll be cooped up in this hotel room avoiding the police for a very long time." To underline her point, a photograph of her appeared on the television with the caption 'wanted: mass murderer and terrorist.'

"Well it looks like you were right," Wolfgang muttered. "They are making your presence known to the general public. That sorta throws a wrench in our plans, right?"

"Only in our movements," Blank replied. "This is a safe haven so long as we don't leave it. However, if we can figure out where the Matriarch is, then we can strike, killing her, before bailing on this hideout, since it'll be compromised."

"Of course… but will we really be able to find a safe space to hide in the city after we leave here?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I doubt it," she admitted. "But I figured once we manage to take out the Matriarch we can leave the city and hideout at the mercenary's headquarters. Without their leader, the hyenas won't be able to deal with the police, and will eventually give up and head home, to elect a new Matriarch. That's when we ambush and finish them off."

"Ruthless," he deadpanned. "But that just leaves one problem… finding the Matriarch without leaving this room."

"Yeah, I'm having that problem too," Blank sighed. "That's why I'm hoping the news might have some information we're not privy to yet."

"It'd be pretty convenient if it does," Wolfgang chuckled as he relaxed against the bed again, keeping his eyes on the television as Blank laid back down, her eyes glued on the TV as well.

"You're telling me," she muttered as they watched the news. Hours seemed to pass as they stared blankly at the television, trying to absorb every single piece of information, just in case any of it managed to connect to finding the hyenas' hideout. They watched story after story, none of them seemingly helpful, but finally, after the two-hour mark, a story came on that looked promising.

"Today a young man of twenty-three was reunited with his stolen truck, only to find it not exactly in the same condition it had been taken in," the snow leopard anchor reported. "Just five days ago, Mr. Stripes' pickup truck was stolen right out of his driveway. He had apparently locked his keys in his truck and had gone inside to call a locksmith, only to come out a mere twenty minutes later to find his truck missing. The truck was missing for three days until it was found at a crime scene full of large caliber bullet holes."

Blank's eyes widened as she watched the story, a grin growing across her face as the truck in question flashed up on the screen. She took in every detail she could, from the bullet holes to the make and model to the license plate. And she recognized the truck as the one that came crashing through the gate of the black site.

"Wolfy dear?" the hyena spoke up, a huge smirk on her face as she glanced at the white wolf for only a moment before looking back at the television.

"Yes?" Wolfgang asked, his ear flicking as he heard the hyena's sickly-sweet tone.

"Would it be possible to trace the hyena mercenaries' steps using the truck?" she asked, still staring at the television, despite the news moving on to a new story.

"Do you mean hacking into the security camera feed across the city, finding the nearest camera to Mr. Stripes' house, then go back five days to when it was stolen, following the hyenas to their hideout once they steal the truck?" he asked.

"That's the idea, can it be done?" she asked.

"Sure, it'd take a little bit, though," he replied with a shrug before rolling out of bed. He stretched for a few seconds, before heading over to his laptop, where he sat down at the desk, and got to work.

"Excellent," Blank grinned as she too hopped out of bed. She flicked off the television first, not wanting it to distract her any longer, before searching for her clothes. Loud tapping sounds filled the hotel room as Wolfgang began to work, his paws flying across the keyboard as he worked his way into the security feed.

By the time Blank found her pants and slipped them on, Wolfgang was already in. "Hey, just a quick question for when we find the hideout," the white wolf spoke up. "I thought you said that the hyenas are disjointed, and the ones that attacked us at the compound left their hideout abandoned?"

"I did say that," Blank replied as she found her flak jacket. "When we find the base of operations the hyenas that stole the truck were using, I doubt there'll be any hyenas there. I'll be surprised if there are, but we'll be there to survey the base. Hopefully we'll find key characteristics that'll allow us to deduce where the real base of operations is, or at least how they would communicate across the city so effectively. Then we should be able to trace the Matriarch back to her hidey hole without ever coming back to this hotel."

"So… I should steal the toiletries now, then?" he sent her a quick smirk, before going back to work.

"Steal them if you want, just make sure you grab your rifle and the laptop," she rolled her eyes as she fished her package of cigarettes from her pocket. _Only three left,_ she bit her lip at the idea of running out. Deciding to risk it, she popped a cancer stick in her mouth and lit it with the lighter she kept in her flak jacket, before going to look for her trench coat.

"I won't forget," the white wolf muttered as he continued working. The hyena slipped on her trench coat and began arming herself. Everything was already locked and loaded, and it only took a few minutes for her to arm herself.

"Find anything yet?" she asked once she was ready to go. She exhaled smoke through her nostrils before dousing the cigarette in a nearby ashtray.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied, waving her over. She padded over to him and leaned over his shoulder, staring at the security feed on the laptop. "It's tough to make out, but I think they've pulled into a warehouse that's just off the screen."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Almost positive… they don't appear on any further camera, so they should have pulled in somewhere near that warehouse," he answered. Cracking his knuckles, he stood up and went to get dressed himself.

"Do you know where the warehouse is?" she asked, glancing back at him as he found his clothes and began redressing.

"I know where the camera is," he replied as he pulled his pants up and put his shirt on. Silently cursing himself for not bringing a bag, he strapped a belt containing a holster carrying a large pistol around his waist, before slinging his sniper rifle over his shoulder. Without a bag, carrying around the laptop would get annoying.

"Well? Where is it?" Blank asked impatiently.

"It's in Happytown," Wolfgang answered. Seeing her confused look, he rolled her eyes and corrected himself, "As in the slums."

"Ah… I don't know the layout of this city like the back of my paw," she rolled her eyes. "Come on then, let's go." And with that, the two mammals exited the hotel room, hopefully not to return.

XXX

Judy was once again standing on the podium in the Bullpen, watching the other officers make their way into the room. Many of them were proudly carrying guns at their hips, though they were still getting used to the new weight at their sides, evident by their awkward attempts to sit down, only for their firearms to get in the way. Behind Judy stood SKY, all four of them staring into the crowd, their arms crossed as they watched the officers file in.

Judy remained silent, ignoring the questioning stares from her officers. She wasn't entirely sure how she was going to explain the four mammals wearing suits behind her. Well, she knew how she _would_ explain the strange mammals behind her, it was as easy as revealing Zootopia had a secret military no one knew about. Unfortunately, J had given her explicit orders _not_ to reveal the secret military.

In here opinion, making the precinct SKY's base of operations while they searched for Blank was a bad idea. It only risked exposing the secrecy of their organization. Sure, SKY needed to be easily contactable in case anyone spotted the rogue hyena, as it was SKY's job to engage Blank, not the ZPD's. But Judy was getting the distinct feeling that the only reason SKY was staying close to the precinct was to give her direct orders.

 _As if they're babysitting me,_ Judy grumbled sarcastically to herself. But, as she watched the last few stragglers make it into the Bullpen, Judy straightened her back and prepared to address her officers. She glanced at Nick, who shot her a reassuring smile, before she cleared her throat.

"Good morning all. I'm sure many of you are curious about the mammals standing behind me… however, I couldn't care less," Judy said, deciding to take a page from Bogo's book. That was one way of dodging explanations. "What's more important is our ongoing investigation of the whereabouts of the rogue hyena, Blank. This is priority number one, so I'll be setting you all either on patrol or stakeout. Understood?"

A chorus of, "Yes ma'am!" was her answer as the officers prepared to receive either patrol or stakeout duty. Judy began pairing the officers off in teams of two, assigning them to patrol a part of the city, or to stakeout.

Eventually, there were only four officers left in the room, including Judy, as well as SKY. "Snarlov, Rhinowitz, you'll be patrolling Happytown," Judy ordered, before turning to Nick. "Wilde, you and I are going to stake out Little Rodentia."

Nick's ear flicked as a small smirk rose onto his face. _Ooh, clever,_ he chuckled internally. He stood up and padded up to the podium as Snarlov and Rhinowitz exited the Bullpen. "Ready when you are, officer Carrots," the fox grinned.

"Just a moment, Slick," Judy replied as she turned around to face SKY. "You four should stay in my office and keep your heads down. We'll radio for you if one of the teams spot Blank."

"Hold on a moment, Judy," J spoke up, stepping forward. "I don't think the chief of police should leave the station right now. Especially since the rogue knows you. The ZPD can't afford to lose another chief."

"Bogo isn't dead," Judy huffed as she hopped off the podium to stand on the same ground as the black and white striped bunny. "And besides, I doubt Blank is going to do anything to me."

"Still, I don't think I'll take that chance," J said. "I'll go with you."

"That's really not necessary," Judy shook her head rapidly. "Your team should stick together!"

"They can operate just fine without me for a few hours," the male rabbit grinned slightly. "Besides, we'll regroup if we do manage to find Blank."

Judy's eye twitched slightly, but she turned around to make sure J didn't catch it. He didn't need to know she didn't like him. "Fine, then… but it's going to be obscenely boring," she sighed, padding towards the door.

"How could a stakeout with a beautiful bunny like you be boring?" J asked, following behind Judy, a wide smirk on his face. The rabbit missed the growl that escaped Nick's muzzle, or chose to ignore it, but the fox followed behind the two bunnies towards a cruiser.

The ride to Little Rodentia had been thankfully quiet. Nick and Judy won a minor victory by shoving J in the back of the cruiser, not allowing him to squeeze up front between the two officers. They came to a stop a few meters away from Little Rodentia, where the three of them settled into a stakeout. Even though it was broad daylight and they were in a police cruiser, they hoped to either spot Blank before she spotted them, or dissuade the hyena from doing anything at all. It was about restricting the rogue hyena's movements, after all, confining the hyena in a corner until she was found, preventing direct confrontations that would most likely end in a firefight.

While J kept an attentive eye out for Blank, Judy was busy seething, glaring at the dashboard as she gripped the steering wheel as hard as she could with her little paws. This wasn't going according to plan. J wasn't supposed to have tagged along! And now it was going to be difficult to go and check out the Little Rodentia crime scene again. That little bunny bastard likely wouldn't be pleased if he knew the real reason she had wanted to stakeout Little Rodentia.

While Judy seethed next to him, Nick focused more on a way to ditch J. He didn't like the black and white bunny either, especially not after he had made a comment towards Judy earlier. As the first hour of the stakeout passed, the fox was suddenly hit with a sly idea.

"Hey Fluff, wanna go grab some coffee?" he asked, turning to face Judy with a small smirk on his face. J's ears perked up as he looked over at the two in the front seats.

"What? Nick, I don't…" Judy trailed off as she spotted the sly grin on the fox's face. Realizing he had an idea, she changed her mind rather quickly. "Actually, we're going to be here for a few more hours… some coffee definitely wouldn't hurt."

"I could use some coffee!" J called out from the back.

"So we're all in agreement, then?" Nick asked as he opened his door and stepped out. "Judy and I will go and fetch us some coffee, there's a shop just on the other side of Little Rodentia."

"Hey, hold on, wait for me!" J protested as Judy shut off the cruiser and hopped out as well. "Hey!"

"How about you stay here and watch over the cruiser for us, J?" Judy suggested with a smirk. The back doors to the cruiser couldn't be opened from the inside, and required someone on the outside of the car to open the door for whoever was in the back. "Don't worry, we'll crack a window!"

J stared at the two officers as the padded towards the little city, leaving him locked in the car with only a cracked window for fresh air. _I get the distinct impression I'm being abandoned…_ the black and white striped bunny grumbled to himself.

Nick and Judy, on the other paw, made their way to the entrance of Little Rodentia and quickly slipped inside. They carefully tiptoed around the inhabitants of the city as they made their way towards the warehouses where Weaselton's body was discovered.

"What are we looking for, Fluff?" Nick asked as they came to a stop in front of the abandoned warehouses.

"Anything, Nick," Judy replied. "I'm currently mulling over the idea that someone paid Weaselton to steal from Mr. Big, giving him that exploit that the weasel used to access the vault, before killing the weasel once he handed over the money."

"Okay, that sounds all fine and dandy, but Duke was killed by a snakebite," the fox reminded the bunny.

"I remember. But we haven't dismissed the idea that Dr. Tavi is using snakes to assassinate mammals," she huffed.

"Really? I thought you were kidding about that," he rolled his eyes.

"Remember those security tapes that you confiscated, Nick? They showed Weaselton following behind one of the missing rodents. What if Weaselton met the rodent as a proxy, then followed the rodent to his death? Only for the rodent to be double crossed and killed as well," Judy suggested.

"Well that definitely sounds insane enough to be one of my theories, Carrots… are you just making fun of me?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow. "And besides, that only accounts for one of the fifteen or so missing rodents, and that's not to mention the fact that Duke wasn't carrying a duffle bag with him. A hundred and fifty-eight million is a lot of cash, he couldn't have just stuffed it in his pants."

"I'm not making fun of you, I'm just grasping at straws. I actually admire the way you think… sometimes," the rabbit smirked. "And it's a working theory, once we get back the venom analysis, we should be able to pick out which snake was used in the murder."

"Thanks for the compliment, I think," the fox rolled his eyes. "So what do we do now, then?"

"Well, you're right about one thing, Weaselton wasn't carrying a bag with him while he was following that rodent," she shrugged. "Perhaps there's a drop off point somewhere in Little Rodentia."

"Rodentia has already been searched top to bottom, I doubt there's a drop off point somewhere in this tiny city," Nick grumbled.

"Well, I'm going to start retracing Weaselton's steps. You can go back and sit with J, if you want," Judy smirked.

"On second thought, I'll go with you…" the fox muttered.

"That's what I thought, Slick," the bunny snickered as she padded away from the warehouses, heading deeper in the city. Meanwhile, J was just affirming to himself that he had indeed been abandoned, and begun searching for a way out of the cruiser.

XXX

 **Looks like things are starting to heat up again! Blank is on the move and Nick and Judy are back to investigating Little Rodentia. I wonder if they'll find anything… and I wonder if Blank will be caught?! All that and more, next time!**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 - SKYFALL:

Author's Note:

 **Oh yeah, another chapter only a week later! I wanted to put this out on Thanksgiving Day, but one, I didn't want to confuse you all, and two, it wasn't quite finished at that time. But I did want to get this chapter out as quickly as possible, because, to tell you all the truth, I didn't really enjoy writing the last chapter. It was too… boring. Very little actually happened, as many of you picked up on. However… this chapter is going to be a lot more exciting! The last few chapter have all been building up to this one. So let's not waste time with speculation on what's about to happen… let's get right down to it. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

"So… if we do _happen_ to find the money Duke stole, we're going to give it back to Mr. Big and collect the reward, right?" Nick asked as they padded deeper into the city. They had been retracing Duke Weaselton's steps from the night of his murder, and had only been walking for a few minutes. But a few minutes' walk got you rather far in Little Rodentia for mammals as large as Nick and Judy.

"If we do happen to find the money, then yes, we'll return it to Mr. Big. I don't know what we'll do with the reward, though," Judy shrugged as she continued walking. She kept her eyes on the ground, being extremely careful not to step on anyone as they walked through the little city.

"Keep it, duh," the fox grinned. "Mr. Big doesn't give rewards often, and fifteen percent is super generous. Over twenty-three million? We could retire on that!"

"Why would I want to retire?" the bunny asked, sending a quick glare his way, before looking back at the ground. "And you shouldn't either."

"I was kidding, Fluff," he chuckled. "I definitely don't want to retire, and I have a feeling you'll _never_ retire. But twenty-three million could be used for lots of things."

"I suppose so, but I think it would be better to use for the precinct rather than for ourselves," she replied. "Think of all the improvements we could make!"

"Oh… fine, but giving the money to the precinct is still technically using it on us," he sighed in defeat. "I just wanted to buy a nice car…"

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes and came to a stop at a fork in the road. "Uh… which direction do we need to go?"

Nick grumbled quietly to himself about her reaction to his car comment. "I have no clue, Carrots," he shrugged. "The first security tape we watched was on that building right there." He gestured to the building to the left of them.

"So we don't know where to go next?!" Judy exclaimed as she glanced back and forth at the two paths they could go down.

"Pretty much," Nick sighed. "Maybe we should call it quits and go back to J before he gets too angry at us."

Judy seemed to think for a moment, trying to decide what the best action was. In truth, she wasn't even quite sure why she was here. Well, she knew why she was here, she wanted to see if there was any evidence of Weaselton colluding with someone else, who then backstabbed the weasel. But what sort of evidence could she even find of that? With Weaselton dead, it was impossible to prove. Even if she found the money, it wouldn't prove anything, unless there were written instructions for Weaselton nestled inside the bag.

 _I doubt anyone would be so careless,_ the bunny muttered internally. "Damn it, you're probably right…" she trailed off.

"The news said that the city had already been scoured, I doubt we'd be able to find anything either," the fox shrugged. "The money is probably already gone."

"Hold on a moment, Slick," Judy said, putting her paw up. "Do you know which way it is to the apartment building Rodney Mus was taken from?"

"The red brick one? Yeah, hold on," Nick replied as he stood up on his tippy toes to get a better view of the city. While Judy was as tall as many of the buildings in Little Rodentia, Nick was tall enough to see over them. After a few moments of searching, he managed to find the apartment building in question. "It's over that way," he said, pointing towards the path on the left.

"Let's go," Judy grinned as she took off towards the building in question, still being careful of where her feet were landing. Nick did the same, still following behind his bunny partner.

It didn't take them long to make it to the familiar red-bricked apartment building. "So, what's the plan here, Fluff?" the fox asked as they came to a stop.

"The rodent that Weaselton was following on the security tapes came from here," the bunny replied. "Which means that Weaselton must've been around this area at some point that night. Since Weaselton didn't have any way to carry the money, like a duffle bag or a briefcase, with him on the tapes, he should have hidden the money somewhere around here."

"Let's start over here, then," Nick suggested, padding towards another familiar building. "Remember this particular building? From the day we discovered Duke's body?"

"Yeah, uh… the building was off its foundation, as if something had been leaning on it, and there was a tuft of fur caught in the bushes," Judy recounted.

"Not just any tuft of fur, _Duke's fur_ ," he said.

"Oh yeah… Duke was the one leaning on the building," she nodded, remembering a bit more from that day. "Which means…"

"He was likely here waiting for someone, or something. He had probably already hidden the cash in a safe place, or a drop off point, and was just waiting for whoever had contracted him to show up," he said. "They went off to bargain about Duke's pay most likely, only for the contractor to stab Duke in the back, killing him."

"So… the money is probably around here somewhere," Judy grinned as she glanced around. Furrowing her eyebrows, she padded past the building off its foundation, heading down the street that led up to the building. Nick once again followed behind her.

"Carrots?" he asked.

Judy came to a stop a moment later, ignoring Nick's concern. "Look at this," she muttered, pointing to something on the ground. A manhole cover, one that she had just stopped in front of. It was in the middle of the street, with tiny cars driving right over it, almost like it wasn't there, except for the bumps it gave the cars.

"What? The manhole cover?" Nick asked as he moved off to the sidewalk so he wasn't standing in traffic, but could still see the cover.

"Yeah… think anyone's checked in there yet?" she asked, looking up at Nick with a small grin on her face. The manhole cover was built for a mid-sized mammal, as a sewer line ran underneath Little Rodentia. The sewer line had likely been built before Little Rodentia had.

"Maybe," Nick shrugged. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a look. How are we going to get the cover off?"

"There should be a crowbar in the trunk of our cruiser," Judy muttered.

"There is?"

"It's standard issue, so there should be."

"Standard issue, huh? That sounds like something I should have known."

"You probably should have… though then again, we've never needed a crowbar before… are you just stalling so you don't have to run back to get it?"

"Well… yeah…" Nick grumbled, scratching the back of his neck. "Running back to grab a crowbar would probably only make J even angrier. If he hasn't realized we left him behind yet, grabbing something out of the trunk and leaving again probably will."

"Well if you're too big of a wuss, then I'll do it," Judy smirked, turning on her heel to head towards the cruiser, only to halt before taking a single step. J stood only a few feet away, holding a pistol in one paw with a scowl on his face.

"Forgetting something?" he asked, glaring at the two of them. Nick's ear flicked as he eyed the pistol, but Judy didn't seem to blanch. The two police officers stared at the gray and black striped bunny in silence for several minutes.

Until Judy shattered the silence with, "Yeah, actually. Could you run back to the cruiser and grab a crowbar? Maybe some yellow caution tape too if we have any." It didn't matter how J had gotten out, he was here, and she might as well roll with it.

The buck blinked a few times, clearly caught off guard by Judy's answer. So he holstered his firearm in a holster hidden by his suit jacket and crossed his arms. "What exactly does this have to do with finding Blank?" he asked.

This time, Nick leapt to Judy's defense. "We thought she might be hiding in the sewer and thought it would be a good idea to check," he lied. Sure, it was a lie, but there was no reason for J to say no.

"That's idiotic," the black and gray striped bunny grumbled. "But there's no reason not to, I suppose…"

"So you'll go and get what we need?" Judy asked with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah, just a minute," J sighed as he turned on his heel and padded away.

The moment he was gone, Nick and Judy turned to face each other, both with raised eyebrows. "How do you think he got out?" Nick asked first, just seconds before Judy could spit the same question out.

"Maybe he shot the door in the right place, bursting the lock," Judy suggested.

"My money's on shooting the window out," Nick grinned.

"Either way, it's probably going to cost a pretty penny to replace," she sighed.

"Unless we pin it on him… I mean, he _was_ the one to do the damage," he snickered.

"True… ah well, we'll see for ourselves as soon as we're done here," she chuckled. "In any case, why don't you go down that ways and start redirecting traffic while we wait for the yellow tape."

"I'm on it, Fluff," Nick grinned as he padded away. This time he purposely started blocking the road just a few feet away from the manhole cover and began gesturing for the cars to take a detour. Several minutes passed before J came back with a crowbar and some yellow tape.

The gray and black striped bunny set the crowbar next to the manhole cover, before helping Nick block the road off. The fox grabbed the crowbar the moment he was no longer needed to redirect traffic, and jammed it underneath the manhole cover. The manhole cover was made for mid-sized mammals, which made it just a bit too heavy for Nick to handle on his own. But with Judy's help, he managed to prop the cover open enough for J to grab it, and drag it off to the side, scuffing the pavement as he did.

Judy took a deep breath before pulling her phone out of a pouch on her belt. She turned on the flashlight and shined it down the hole. "I think I see something," she muttered after a few minutes.

"Really?" J asked, pulling his gun from its hidden holster, before making his way over to the hole, believing Judy was talking about Blank.

"Yup. See that?" Judy asked as she pointed towards the object in question. J immediately let out a growl when he saw what the doe was pointing at, and angrily holstered his firearm again.

"That's a duffle bag," the buck grumbled, crossing his arms. "What does this have to do with our rogue hyena?"

"Nothing at the moment, but since we're already here…" the doe replied, gesturing towards Nick.

"What?" the fox asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Go and get the duffle bag," she sighed. "Please."

"Well, since you asked nicely," Nick rolled his eyes as he began lowering himself into the sewer. Judy continued to shine her phone's flashlight down the hole so that he could see. "It's pretty gross down here!" he exclaimed as he touched down on the sewer floor.

"Well, yeah, it's a sewer. Just grab the bag and get out," Judy called back. She shut off her flashlight and took a step back when Nick made it back to the ladder and began climbing out of the sewer.

He tossed the duffle bag out first, before pulling himself out. J dragged the manhole cover back into place the moment the fox's tail was clear, despite how much the buck wanted to slam the heavy metal plate on top of Nick's tail for wasting his time. "Well? Open it," Judy gestured towards the bag.

Nick grabbed the zipper on the bag, doing his best to ignore how disgusting the bag had gotten after a few days in the sewer, and unzipped it to reveal… an empty bag. "Uh… it's empty," Nick muttered.

"What?" Judy asked, looking inside the duffle bag to see that it was indeed empty. "But… where's the money? Are you sure this is Weaselton's duffle bag?"

"Yup, this is Duke's stealing bag," Nick nodded, recognizing the duffle bag the weasel favored from the fox's days as a conman. Although he and Duke never worked particularly closely together, Nick had more than once conned the weasel out of the contents of this bag… though never the bag itself. "Do you think someone found the bag, took the money, and dumped the bag here without telling anyone?"

"If they did, they would have had to have found it pretty quickly after Weaselton's death… the bag's been down there for at least a few days," Judy noted. "More likely Weaselton hid the bag there on purpose, or maybe it was a drop-off point and someone already came by to take the money, leaving the bag behind."

"Who cares?!" J interrupted, stepping forward to glare at the two. "You've both wasted my time enough. You've got your disgusting duffle bag, and now we have a rogue hyena to catch! Can we please get back to the stakeout?"

Nick and Judy exchanged glances before the fox let out a sigh, "He's right, Fluff, we've burned enough time. Let's get back to the cruiser."

Judy opened her mouth to agree, but she was cut off by the sound of her radio going off. She blinked a few times as the device on her hip crackled and the sound of Snarlov's voice came through. "Chief Hopps, we've spotted the target," the polar bear said.

Judy snatched the radio off her belt and held it up to her head, while pressing down the button. "Affirmative, Snarlov, where is she?" the bunny asked.

"We saw her heading into a warehouse on eighty-first street," Snarlov replied. "I think she saw us, but didn't do anything."

"Is she alone?" Judy asked.

"I think so, I didn't see anyone enter with her," the polar bear officer answered.

"Copy that, Snarlov, stay where you are. Tail her if she leaves the warehouse, but under no circumstance are you to engage," Judy ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Snarlov replied before the radio went silent.

"Well, there ya go, J, looks like we found her," Nick grinned, glancing down at the gray and black striped buck.

"I suppose so… let's get moving before we lose her again," J growled as he bolted towards the cruiser, Nick and Judy hot on his tail.

XXX

Blank made her way into the abandoned warehouse on eighty-first street, glancing at the cop car tailing her for only a second before disappearing into the building. One cop car wasn't a problem, and she had a feeling they had been ordered to stay back, otherwise they might've tried to arrest her. If the police had been ordered to stay back, but still patrol the city, then there was no doubt in her mind the ZPD was somehow in contact with SKY.

She had plenty of time to search the warehouse and escape while the police called for backup and SKY. The warehouse was big, but she figured if she moved quickly enough, she should be able to cover most of it in just under an hour. If SKY was waiting at city hall or the precinct, then it would probably take them at least that long to make their way into Happytown. Even if they did manage to make it to the warehouse before Blank could make it out, she had an early warning system in place.

 _My eyes in the sky,_ she chuckled to herself as she patted one of her pockets. But her grin quickly fell off her face as she refocused on the task ahead. Perking her ears, she took a deep breath and let it go slowly, before holding her breath out, slowing the beat of her heart. With her heartbeat no longer a bother, she listened out across the warehouse in case there was anyone still here.

The hyenas that Judy had captured had told her that they had abandoned this hideout in case she managed to find it after the attack on the black site, but she wasn't going to be led into a possible ambush by believing the enemy. But, as she took a few minutes to listen carefully, she heard nothing. Just dead silence. Which meant there was likely no hyena ambush, nor a police ambush, as she doubted either group could have actually stayed silent enough to fool her hearing.

With the coast clear, she pressed onwards, her eyes sweeping back and forth to take in as much as she possibly could, searching for any clues that might lead to the Matriarch's hideout. But she was coming up empty. The warehouse was certainly abandoned, in fact, it didn't even really look like hyenas had been here at all… at least not in mass.

They would've left scuff marks from their claws on the concrete floor, or there would be holes in the wall where bored hyenas did a little target practice, with either guns or throwing knives. But there was a very distinct lack of either… in fact, the warehouse didn't even smell like hyena. If there were really dozens upon dozens of them hiding out here, they would have left their very distinct scent everywhere. But instead the entire warehouse just smelled rank, an awful smell Blank couldn't quite identify.

But as she made her way throughout the warehouse, she accidentally stumbled upon the answer. The floors were built at a slight incline, creating a ramp that lead to the center of the warehouse. Where a large sewer grate sat. The sewer grate was rather large, probably about as large as one hyena by two hyenas laying head to toe.

Blank stepped onto the grate and scented the air, only to immediately recoil after getting a blast of the foul odor that permeated the warehouse. Clearly the warehouse had needed the draining system to drain out something disgusting, but the hyena couldn't tell what it could have been.

But it was fairly obvious to her that the hyenas chose this place because it would be very difficult for her, or anyone, to determine that they had been there after they had abandoned it. They had likely left as few signs as possible in all their hideouts, just to throw her off. _Damn it,_ she grumbled to herself.

But, on the other paw, perhaps things weren't quite as bad as they seemed. She could meet up with Wolfgang again, perhaps do a little research on this warehouse, and just search for other abandoned warehouses like this one. Managing a grin, she continued throughout the warehouse, still intent on checking everywhere. If the hyenas were indeed using warehouses like this one to hide out in, then it wouldn't hurt to know the layout of the buildings before she was forced to storm one.

Her ear flicked a few minutes later as she heard the sound of sirens, but she elected to ignore them as she continued searching the building. If push came to shove, she could always use brute force to burst through a police blockade. They were mostly unarmed, if she understood Zootopia politics correctly, except for the Bunny Cop and her foxy partner. And the caliber of their pistols could never hope to make it through her body armor.

She found several different exits, which would make a frontal assault on a warehouse like this difficult to do for one woman, as the hyenas could get the Matriarch out of the building once they knew they stood no hope against her. _I could have Wolfgang cover as many exits as possible,_ she muttered to herself, already creating a plan of action.

She padded up to the back wall, past a group of columns that helped keep the warehouse standing, and stopped next to a set of stairs. The stairs looked rickety, but strong enough to handle at least a few hyenas' weight, but probably not an onslaught of bullets. The stairs looked like they lead towards the roof, but she figured with Wolfgang guarding a few exits, getting on the roof would only make them sitting ducks.

She glanced out one of the many large windows lining the back of the warehouse as she finalized her plan of attack. If she came bursting in through one of the main windows, she'd probably take the hyena army by surprise and manage to kill more than a few of them before they could react. She would be able to use the columns as cover as she slowly whittled them down with her shotgun and submachinegun until it was just her and the Matriarch left. With Wolfgang covering the exits, there would be nowhere for that old bitch to run.

The only hitch that she could think of was her not being able to use her precious M60. If the hyena mercenaries managed to get into cover behind the stone pillars throughout the warehouse, her submachinegun and shotgun combo would have difficulties tearing through the columns. Unlike her M60, which would absolutely shred everything. _Now I regret going to the precinct instead of the black site to recover my precious…_ she sighed internally.

But it was already too late to wish she had done things differently. And besides, it wasn't like the M60 was _necessary_ to complete her mission… it would just make it easier. And reduce her chances of getting shot or injured.

With a strategy of hunting the Matriarch down and a plan of attack memorized, Blank turned on her heel to head for one of the exits, hoping to slip away into the night. But as she turned around, her heart immediately dropped and she took an involuntary step backwards. Four mammals of varying sizes, all wearing suits, were standing mere feet away from her with their arms crossed.

 _They snuck up on me!_ Blank snarled internally as she reached for her shotgun. She had been distracted while thinking of a plan… she must've lost track of time! Where was her early warning system? What happened to Wolfgang? She didn't have time to worry about him, she needed to act, now!

"Woah, slow down there," J spoke up, holding his paw in the air as the hyena pulled her shotgun off her back. He took a step forward, but the other three mammals remained rigid with their arms crossed. "We just want to talk."

"Talk?" Blank asked, narrowing her eyes. She let her shotgun hang by her hip, but she didn't put it back on her back, or drop it.

"Yes… talk," J nodded, glancing down at the shotgun by her side. She was clearly on edge… if she got too worked up she might forget that they were on the same side. It was best to keep her calm. "After your… slaughter at the black site, the Big Boss asked us to come and fetch you."

"If he wants to speak to me, he should have come himself," Blank rolled her eyes. _I don't have time for this…_ she grumbled internally.

"He's been trying to summon you for nearly a week now… you haven't been responding," J's eyes narrowed. "When we tried to track you, we found that you had deactivated your tracker."

"I never touched my tracker," Blank replied, flicking one of her ears.

"We also have reason to believe your obedience chip has been tampered with as well," J continued, ignoring Blank's claim. "If that's the case, then you need to come with us immediately… you're as much a danger to yourself as well as everyone else in this city."

"I have not tampered nor deactivated anything," Blank repeated, a hollow grin spreading across her face. "But who's to say someone else hasn't sabotaged my chip while I was asleep?"

J's eye twitched involuntarily. "Still," he growled. "You need to come with us. We need to fix everything that's broken, and you need to give the Big Boss a full report."

"No," Blank shook her head. "I don't think I'll do any of that. I'll put everything back that I stole after I'm done, but I'm not going back to Lionheart. I'm never going back to Lionheart again."

"Don't say his name," J hissed.

"Fuck you," she replied, glaring at him.

"Well, if you're going to act like a rogue agent, then we're going to treat you like one," J snarled. "You're coming with us whether you like it or not!" It was almost as if a silent command had been given on that note. All four of the SKY operatives grabbed their pistols from their hidden holsters in their suit jackets while Blank raised her shotgun.

The tension was strangling as the five mammals glared at each other, none of them so much as flinching as they waited to see who would move first. SKY had the numbers advantage, but those suits would be poor protection against bullets. If Blank managed to shoot one of them, they likely weren't going to be getting back up again. The silence was deafening as the minutes ticked by, neither side willing to strike first.

The sound of a gunshot shattering the silence was only half as loud as J's scream. He was thrown off his feet and tossed backwards over a meter as a bullet slammed into his hip, piercing straight through flesh and bone, before burrowing into the concrete floor of the warehouse. But the most surprising thing was that the bullet didn't come from within the warehouse.

Rather, it had come from outside of the warehouse, making a hole through the window, whizzing past Blank's head by a hair's breadth, before hitting J. "Sniper!" the lioness cried out once the realization of what had just happened struck them. Blank had reacted the moment J was hit, rushing towards one of the stone pillars holding up the warehouse, ducking into cover behind it. She was still in line of fire for the sniper, but she knew the sniper wouldn't fire at her.

SKY, on the other paw, were scrambling to find cover and still shoot at Blank. The arctic fox on the team grabbed J's collar and started dragging him behind one of the columns. The rifle round had pierced through the rabbit's leg, nearly tearing it from its socket. His left hip bone was likely completely destroyed, and unless he got medical attention soon, he was liable to bleed out.

But there was no time to worry about that. "Are you alright?" the arctic vixen asked as she poked her head out and fired off a few rounds towards the column Blank was hiding behind. She only got three rounds off before ducking her head back behind the pillar, a sniper round whizzing past where her head had been just a moment before.

"Never better," J hissed as he tore his suit off and tried to fashion it into a bandage. He had dropped his gun when the round hit him, so all he could do now was survive. "We need to fall back… she has supporting fire from the asset…"

"She knew that she was going to be ambushed," the vixen snarled before poking out, squeezing off a few more shots, before ducking back. This time a shotgun slug slammed into the pillar in retaliation. "Falling back is going to be difficult with her and the sniper at the same time."

J finished his makeshift bandage while the vixen reloaded her pistol. "We have to give it a shot," he growled. "Leave me behind if you have to."

The SKY agent stared at her squad leader, gritting her teeth as she thought of a response. "Tch," she eventually scoffed. "I'm not leaving you behind." She poked her head out again, snapped off a few rounds, before pulling back just as Blank whirled around to return fire. J let out a somber chuckle, but refused to comment how they were likely all doomed. They could pull through this.

This time, though, the lioness on the team was ready, poking out just as Blank did and firing a round in the hyena's direction. Blank growled as the bullet hit her chest, thankfully doing no damage to her plate carrier, but it forced her to pull back into cover. Another sniper round flew through the air, just missing the lioness' head as she too pulled back.

So the stalemate continued. With the sniper on Blank's side, there was very little SKY could do to advance on the hyena. Their numbers advantage meant nothing if they couldn't attack her all at once. They had to settle on stalling, popping out and firing a few rounds in Blank's direction to dissuade her from advancing, while at the same time forcing the sniper to fire at them. Eventually the sniper would run out of bullets.

It was a fact Blank was well aware of. She, just like the members of SKY had been counting Wolfgang's rounds and knew that he only had a few left before he would have to reload. And no matter how fast the white wolf reloaded, it wouldn't stop all three of the SKY agents from rushing Blank's position.

So Blank stopped wasting her shells, knowing that she'd need them soon. She shut her eyes, still listening, waiting, and counting Wolfgang's rounds as they came flying through the window and slamming into a column or the ground. With the momentary lull in combat, at least for her, she made a mental map of her enemies' positions. She knew where J and the vixen were, and she knew where the lioness was, but she had yet to be shot at by the wolf of the group.

But, as the sniper's tenth round hit the column the arctic vixen had been hiding behind, Blank didn't have time to wonder about the wolf. They were coming for her, and she had to move. All hell broke loose the moment the mammals in the warehouse realized the sniper was empty, the lioness rushed from her position and raced towards Blank's with her pistol at the ready. The wolf finally made an appearance, flanking the hyena on the right. The vixen held her position, gun trained on the column Blank was hiding behind.

Or at least, that's what would have happened had Blank stayed put. Instead of staying still and waiting for the inevitable pincer movement from the lioness on her left and the wolf on her right, Blank rushed out from behind her cover. Towards the left.

The lioness skidded to a halt, not having expected the hyena to expose herself like that. But that hesitation costed the lioness her life. Before she could fire a single round, Blank fired off two slugs, both of them hitting the lioness' chest, killing her almost instantly. Blood splattered against the ground as the lioness fell backwards from the force of the blow, drawing her last breath, before fading away.

"Damn it!" the vixen cried out, opening fire at Blank. Several rounds hit the hyena's flak jacket, and one even went into her leg, before she could get back into cover. The vixen pumped a few more rounds into the stone pillar Blank hid behind, before pulling back to reload.

Blank hissed slightly as she looked down at where she had been hit. The bullet hadn't gone very deep, but it would still need to be pulled out. It would have to wait until she was clear, though, as the wolf was still rounding on her, pistol at the ready. He was already too close for comfort, just a few feet away from the pillar she was hiding behind.

Dropping her shotgun, she pulled a knife from her belt. The shotgun clattered against the floor just as the wolf began rounding the pillar. She leapt out at him and grabbed his arm, trying to twist his firearm away from him before he could shoot her. He was faster on the draw than the lioness, however, as he managed to put a bullet into Blank's shoulder before she rammed the knife into his throat.

He let out a gurgled squeal as she began twisting the knife, but didn't outright drop dead. Instead, he grabbed her with his free paw and dragged her out of cover. Right into the arctic vixen's line of fire. The vixen had jumped out from behind her cover to get as clear a shot as possible at the hyena's side.

Blank tried to wrench her knife free and wriggle out of the wolf's grasp, but despite how close he was to death, his grip was firm. So when the vixen opened fire, Blank was forced to hold up her free arm in front of her face, doing everything she could to prevent a headshot. The trench coat she was wearing was thick and armored with little steel plates, that plus the vixen's small caliber firearm prevented the bullets from going through the hyena's arm and into her skull.

The first three rounds the vixen fired were stopped by Blank's trench coat and arm, but the fourth bullet went straight into the hyena's side, just under Blank's flak jacket. There was nothing Blank could do to stop the vixen from unloading the rest of her pistol into the hyena's side. Blank fully expected another bout of agonizing pain to explode from her side as the vixen squeezed the trigger a fifth time.

However, that was not the case, as before the arctic vixen could pull the trigger, a different gunshot was heard. Wolfgang had managed to reload and fire before the vixen could, putting his bullet right through her skull. Blood, brain matter, and pieces of fractured skull exploded from the back of the vixen's head as she was killed instantly.

J could do nothing but watch as his last partner dropped to her knees and keeled over. He could do nothing as Blank finally managed to wrench her knife out of the wolf's neck, before pushing him onto the floor, his last few breaths labored before he finally passed. J could do nothing as Blank took off, leaving him to bleed out on the floor. He couldn't stop her even if he wanted to, as he didn't have a gun, he couldn't move, and if he tried to crawl over towards his fallen partner, he would only be shot down by the sniper.

Blank left her shotgun behind, having forgotten it completely. Her shoulder, side, and arm were all aching from the bullets, and she just needed to get to somewhere safe. She would have Wolfgang go and get her another one while they searched for where the Matriarch might be hiding.

She reached out with her good arm, despite her screaming shoulder, and pushed the door opened. Her eyes wrenched shut as pain lanced through her shoulder before she stepped out of the warehouse. The door slammed behind her almost ominously as she slowly opened her eyes.

Only for them to widen immediately after. Dozens upon dozens of police officers stood in front of the warehouse, many of them with firearms drawn and aimed at her. And at the very front was the Bunny Cop, paws on her hips as she glared at the hyena. Blank wasn't even sure how to react.

 _Shit,_ Blank grumbled internally. She wasn't sure how she had managed to forget about the police. She remembered explaining to Wolfgang that the police were likely working with SKY, but she had completely forgotten about them in the heat of battle. Now she was surrounded and there was no way she would be able to fight all of them at once. Not with them all being armed.

 _When did they get firearms?_ Blank wondered internally. "Put your paws behind your head, and get on your knees!" Judy ordered rather loudly, cutting Blank's train of thought off. "Now!" the Bunny Cop added a moment later for emphasis.

Blank glared at Judy, who returned the glare, but made no motion to comply. The two glared at each other for several minutes in deadlock, neither giving ground to the other. Judy with her paws on her hips, and Blank with bullet holes bleeding all over the pavement.

But, as the seconds turned into a full minute, Blank dropped to her knees. She didn't have much of a choice, she had made a mistake in forgetting about the cops. She slowly raised her paws above her head, never breaking eye contact with Judy as she did. The Bunny Cop had beaten her… and she wasn't sure she would be able to fight her way out of this one.

XXX

 **Ooh, a cliffhanger. I bet you all miss those! Just as much as you miss action scenes, I bet. SKY has been decimated, but it looks like Judy is going to win the day for the ZPD! It looks like there's no escape for Blank… she's going to jail. Right? Stay tuned next time to see what happens!**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28 – Blue Blood:

Author's Note:

 **Well… with finals finally over, I can resume posting once again! However… I have some good news for those of you who enjoy this story. Over winter break, I will be exclusively posting for this story, in an effort to finish it before the Spring semester starts near the end of January. I'm not sure if it's possible, but I've been working on this story for a year, and I would like to start something new next year. That means, of course, I won't be posting only once a week, I'll be dropping chapters basically as soon as they're finished, which might mean you may see upwards of two chapters a week! And that also means I'll no longer have a fixed day of posting, so beware of that… though you all should still have plenty of time to read each installment.**

 **I'd like to respond to USA Patriot real quick… I was actually really excited to hear your gun rant for last chapter's action scene. I was a little disappointed that I had to wait so long, but it was certainly worth the wait! Ah, as Wolfy will explain in this chapter, he fumbled his mag, nearly dropping it off the building he was sniping from. If you couldn't already tell, he's not a field agent, unlike Blank, and although he's a good shot, he's a little rusty. Hopefully that answers your question as to why it took so long for him to kill the arctic vixen.**

 **In any case, last chapter left off with a cliffhanger, right as Blank was about to be arrested. Will Judy manage to capture the rogue hyena, or will Blank make a daring escape? Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Judy watched with almost smug satisfaction as Blank dropped to her knees, putting her paws behind her head. The two females exchanged glares before Judy looked up at a polar bear next to her, though she continued to glance at the hyena out of the corner of her eye. Despite being completely surrounded, Judy didn't put it past the rogue hyena to try something. "Cuff her," the bunny ordered the polar bear.

Blank looked down at the ground, unable to watch as the polar bear pulled out a pair of pawcuffs and made his way towards her. She shut her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, before letting it out slowly. This wasn't it. It couldn't be it for her… she finally had a lead!

She could feel the large polar bear's steps through the ground as he carefully approached her. As his form blocked the sun, covering her in a shadow, she couldn't help the smirk that crossed her face. _They're still scared of me,_ she cackled internally. Despite the burning in her arm and shoulder, the lancing pain in her hip, and her throbbing leg… she could make it out of this.

Officer Snarlov was a cautious man, it was why Judy picked him to make the arrest. And he knew that looks could be deceiving. Despite the fact that he was twice her size and that she was clearly injured, the hollow laugh that escaped her lips gave him pause as he leaned down to grab her paws.

Unfortunately, caution wouldn't save him here. He couldn't help the cold sweat that began dripping from his brow as Blank looked up at him, still chuckling softly, determination burning in her eyes. _Oh shi…_ was his last thought before a bullet whizzed through the air, slamming into Snarlov's skull, a gunshot sounding almost immediately afterwards.

 _Wolfgang saved me again,_ Blank snickered as she reached up and grabbed Snarlov, who was already practically dead, and pulled him down on top of her, blood from the hole in his head dripping onto her face. She kept him propped up enough where she would be able to push him off of her, but because there were no officers behind her, he provided a useful shield. As it only took a few seconds after Wolfgang killed Snarlov for the other officers to open fire, only for their bullets to hit Snarlov's corpse instead.

Blank could hear Judy crying out for the officers to cease fire, but they mostly ignored her as Wolfgang took another shot, likely felling another officer. Judy's screaming was cut off by the sound of Nick finally yelling out, "Sniper!" as he, along with everyone else realizing that the shot must've come from somewhere else.

Blank let out another chuckle as she reached behind her back and pulled out her last flashbang. With the officers rushing around, yelling out 'sniper,' and focusing more on getting out of Wolfgang's line of fire, they were no longer firing at her position. Which meant it was time for her to leave.

Blank pulled the pin on the flashbang before throwing it around Snarlov's body. She heard Wolfgang fire off a few more shots before the flashbang finally detonated. And the moment it did, she shoved Snarlov off her and took off, despite the burning in her leg and pain in her hip. She was running on pure adrenaline, and nothing could stop her.

Judy was still reeling over the deaths of her comrades in blue via sniper fire and was unable to properly protect herself from the flashbang. The wall of light and sound hit her like a truck, causing her to scream out in fear and frustration. She could vaguely hear Nick yelling, "Don't let her get away!" but it sounded like he was miles away.

She heard gunfire as the half-blind, half-deaf officers tried to orientate themselves and stop the fleeing hyena. Each gunshot caused the ringing in her ears to intensify, forcing her to her knees as the world spun uncontrollably around her. Her head began to pound even as the flashbang faded into oblivion. Judy didn't doubt that Blank had managed to escape.

"Judy? Judy!" Nick exclaimed as he rushed over to the keeled-over bunny. He had briefly attempted to pursue the fleeing hyena, but was forced to take cover behind a car as he was nearly hit by a sniper round. All the other officers were forced into cover as well, as the sniper killed anyone who attempted to follow Blank.

But, several minutes after Blank disappeared, the sniper stopped firing at the officers, allowing Nick to approach Judy. She hadn't moved from her spot, but the sniper didn't target her. Or maybe the warehouse was blocking his line of sight. But concern immediately welled up in his chest once he saw that she was curled up on the ground, clutching her head in pain.

He leaned down next to her and put a paw on her shoulder, hoping that his mere presence would be comforting. And it was comforting. The moment his paw touched her shoulder, the world stabilized for her. Her eyes opened slowly as the ringing in her ears faded away.

"Nick," she said softly, looking up at him as she did. He gave her a small smile and offered her his other paw, which she graciously accepted, before he hoisted her to her feet. She wobbled, but didn't fall over again. She pressed a paw against her head, as it was still pounding, but it was a small price to pay for balance.

"Are you alright, Fluff?" the fox asked, reverting to one of his nicknames for her once he knew she wasn't in danger.

"Not really… but it'll have to do for now," she sighed. Looking over at the other officers to see them making their way towards her, she decided that she had to at least try and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. "We're not done yet."

Nick's ear flicked as he heard those words. "Not one to give up, are you, Fluff?" he asked with a soft sigh. "I want to catch her just as much as you do, but I think it's time we slink back to the precinct and try and consolidate."

"No… no, we're going after her. _And_ her sniper friend," Judy hissed. _Wolfgang…_ she realized who the sniper must be. "Johnson, Anderson!" she called out, turning to the polar bear officer and the lion officer.

"Sir? Uh… Ma'am, I mean," Johnson said as he and his partner stepped forward. They were one of the most successful duos on the force, behind Nick and Judy themselves.

"I need you to hop in a squad car and pursue the suspect," Judy ordered, putting her paws on her hips. "She couldn't have gotten far, and it looks like she's heading deeper into the slums. If you find her, call it in, but don't let her get away. She's injured, but still dangerous. So lethal force is advised."

"Yes ma'am!" Anderson exclaimed as he and Johnson headed towards one of the squad cars at standby. Besides being one of the most successful duos on the force, they were also one of the most lethal. Few could match the strength and ferocity of a polar bear, while Johnson was just under eight feet tall, granting him access to a firearm. If any duo could take an injured Blank out, it would be those two.

Judy didn't wait for them to pull out of the cruiser's parking spot before giving more orders. "Jackson, Grizzoli, take a few other officers with you and try and block off as many exits to Happytown as you possibly can. If Johnson and Anderson can't find her, we can't let her leave the slums," the bunny commanded. "Lethal force is authorized for you lot as well."

"Understood," Jackson nodded, gesturing towards a few other officers as they too headed towards squad cars. If Anderson and Johnson managed to find the rogue hyena, they would be able to box her in and eventually capture her. If they didn't, Blank wouldn't be able to leave the slums at the very least.

"Rhinowitz, McHorn, take the remaining officers and hunt down that fucking sniper. Arrest him or kill him, either one works," Judy growled, gritting her teeth slightly. While she preferred to take Wolfgang and Blank alive, their actions today warranted lethal force. Especially since Wolfgang had killed multiple officers today.

"We'll search the surrounding buildings," McHorn nodded as he took off towards the most likely place the sniper was hiding. While the rhinos thick skin and plate armor likely wouldn't stop Wolfgang's sniper rounds, but it might give them a fighting chance.

"And what about us, ma'am?" Nick smirked slightly, gesturing to the fact that it was just him and the bunny left.

"We're going to check on SKY… and call an ambulance for the injured… dead officers…" Judy sighed, rubbing her temples. "Though I have a feeling there won't be much of SKY left."

"They at least managed to weaken Blank, giving us a chance to capture her," Nick shrugged as he followed the rabbit towards the warehouse. She had already pulled out her phone and was dialing for an ambulance.

Judy didn't respond as she put her phone up to her ear and placed a nine-one-one call. Nick tuned her out as he walked ahead of her to open the heavy warehouse door for her. She thanked him with a nod of her head, before finishing her call and pocketing her phone.

Both Nick and Judy crinkled their noses once they entered the warehouse. And it wasn't just because they could see the dead bodies of SKY agents from the doorway. Rather, it was the rancid smell in the air that they could only describe as sewage. "Nasty…" Nick muttered, pinching his sensitive nose closed as he led the way into the warehouse.

"Not even death smells this bad," Judy agreed, following behind Nick as she too pinched her nose closed. She could almost taste the awful smell.

As they walked through the warehouse, heading towards the deceased body of the lioness agent, they quickly discovered why it smelled so bad in the warehouse. A huge sewer grate in the center of the building that gave both mammals pause. They exchanged glances, but forged onwards. They didn't have the time to ponder what had been produced in this warehouse that required direct access to the sewer for disposal.

"Hnn… ugh…" a pained groan drew both of their attention away from the lioness, who was only a few steps away, towards a small gray figure leaning against one of the many pillars supporting the building.

Judy's eyes widened as she recognized the figure as J. And it wasn't exactly easy to tell it was the gray and black striped bunny. He had removed his suit jacket and attempted to fashion it into some type of cast, as it looked like one of his legs had been torn from its socket. Blood stained the floor beneath him, the suit jacket cast doing little to stop the bleeding.

"Oh my god," Judy muttered as she and Nick rushed over to the injured rabbit. She knelt down and tried to touch his makeshift cast, only for him to slap her paw away.

"Don't… ugh… worry about me… the others…" he gasped out. He had clearly lost a lot of blood, and was struggling not to pass out.

"The others…" Judy trailed off as she glanced around. Each one had blood pouring from wounds, and the arctic vixen was practically missing her entire head, the red liquid slowly flowing down the inclined plane the warehouse was built on, heading towards the sewer grate. They weren't moving, and it didn't look like they were breathing either. "The others are dead, J."

"Damn it… damn it!" the buck growled, trying to stand up, only for him to slide off the column he was leaning on, collapsing onto his uninjured side.

"Stop moving!" Nick exclaimed, seeing that the buck's makeshift cast had come off, even more of his lifeblood leaking out of his wound. And now that Nick could see the injury clearly, it didn't look good. His leg was likely useless… it might just need to be amputated.

"Yes, stop struggling, we can help you," Judy sighed as she grabbed the makeshift cast and tried to tie it back in place. "We've called an ambulance, but it's looking like you're the only survivor."

"No! No… no ambulance, no hospital," J grunted as Judy tightened the cast.

"Well you don't have a lot of choice," the doe huffed, crossing her eyes.

"Then kill me now," the buck growled, rolling onto his back as he waited for death to come.

"Kill… I'm not going to do that!" Judy exclaimed, aghast at the very idea.

"Then take me somewhere that's not a hospital," J shrugged.

"You know, you can't even move," Nick rolled his eyes. "It's not like you have much choice."

"Maybe not… but I still have something you two want, right?" J smirked up at Judy. "The analysis of the venom samples… with the rest of SKY dead I'm the only one who can give it to you. And I can't do that in a hospital."

Nick and Judy glared at the gray and black striped rabbit for a few seconds before Judy threw her paws into the air with an exasperated sigh. "Fine, fine, I'll take you somewhere safe," she growled. "But I can't guarantee that I'll be able to save your leg."

"My leg… is of no concern right now," J muttered. "I cannot allow our operation to be jeopardized with me being in the hospital. Even if you can't save my leg, as long as I don't die, you'll be able to get the information you seek."

"Well that's just fan-fucking-tastic," Nick snarled, mostly to himself, as he leaned down and picked the buck up carefully, making sure the cast didn't come off. He then followed Judy towards the door. They could hear sirens in the distance, but they probably had plenty of time to get out of here.

XXX

Blank didn't stop running until she was nearly a full kilometer deeper into the slums. And even then, she only slowed down. The streets of Happytown were thankfully mostly empty. The few mammals that were loitering around likely wanted to come into contact with the cops even less than she did. She was at least momentarily safe. But, for good measure, she made her way towards an alleyway, ducking into it, and hiding behind a dumpster.

She let out a loud gasp as she slid down the steel garbage container, panting hard as she tried to catch her breath. Every part of her, not just the ones riddled with bullets, burned like hell. Leaning her head back against the dumpster, she shut her eyes and just tried to catch her breath. The alleyway she was in was closed off with a wooden fence only a few feet away from her and no ladders or staircases leading up the side of either of the buildings she was between. With her hiding behind the dumpster, she couldn't be seen from anyone outside of the alley.

Finally, after a few minutes of nothing more than just panting, she let out a sigh and tore off her trench coat. There were a few new holes in the metal plates, but it was nothing too serious. What was more serious was her still bleeding bullet holes. The running had aggravated most of the wounds, causing more blood to pour from the holes.

She could certainly feel herself getting woozy, and although the holes would likely need to be sown up or cauterized, she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to make it without some sort of treatment. So she pulled out her knife, and decided to start with the least serious wounds, the bullets that had hit her arm.

The bullets had eaten through her trench coat and embedded themselves in her arm. Such a small caliber round shouldn't have been able to do that… but as she dug the first bullet out, she realized why. They weren't regular nine millimeters, though Blank wasn't sure what the caliber of bullet a fox would use. They were special, drill-like, 'bone-eater' rounds. The hyena had heard that Lionheart made his home teams use these sorts of rounds, but she had never seen them for herself before.

 _That explains why they ate through my coat…_ Blank grumbled as she worked on dislodging the next bullet. They weren't too terribly deep, they hadn't quite hit bone, but they were stuck fairly well in her flesh. And there were three of them. Each one hurt to dig out, but she knew the pain would be nothing compared to the one in her hip.

She set the bullets aside, though she had no intention of leaving them, before opening a flak jacket pocket and pulling out a small roll of gauze. She didn't carry a lot of the stuff, as she didn't get shot very often, but she had just enough to cover her wounds.

She finished wrapping her arm, before picking up her knife again and working on her shoulder. To her surprise, the bullet hadn't actually bit into her flesh. It ate through her trench coat and the part of her flak jacket covering her shoulder, but not into her skin. The impact had given her a nasty bruise for sure, as her shoulder still ached, but it was one less wound she would have to patch.

She then turned her attention towards the round in her hip. She was most worried about this wound, as it was the only one she was sure burrowed into her bone. Sucking in a deep breath, fighting through the pain, she carefully slipped the tip of her knife into the wound, trying to dislodge the bullet in her bone.

She let out a few loud grunts and gasps as she made the bullet hole larger, more of her blood pouring onto the ground. Her knife grated against her bone as she managed to dislodge the round, but not get it out of her side. Letting out a hiss, she was forced to open the wound more with her knife, before reaching in with her fingers to fish the bullet out.

It took nearly a minute, but eventually she managed to pull the blood-soaked bullet from her hip and set it in a pile with the others. Resuming her panting, as she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding, she wrapped the gauze around her waist, covering the wound while she was at it.

 _One left,_ she muttered to herself as she wiped her brow, only succeeding in smearing blood across her forehead. As she picked up her knife again, intent on going for the bullet in her leg, she felt her phone start buzzing. Letting out a tired sigh, she reached into her pocket with her blood-slicked fingers, before pulling out her phone and answering it. "Yes?" she asked, holding the old-fashioned flip phone up to her ear.

"It's me," Wolfgang's voice came through the speaker.

"Oh, good," Blank replied, leaning against the dumpster again. "We're in a bit of a bind here."

"I noticed," Wolfgang chuckled. "I didn't really want to kill those cops…"

"Well it's a damn good thing you did," she growled. "No one, and I mean no one, is going to get in the way of me completing my mission!"

"Of course," he sighed. "But with SKY disposed of and six or seven officers down for the count, I'd say we have a bit of breathing room."

"I wouldn't be too sure," she rolled her eyes. "I have no doubt that they've sent out patrols to find us… are you still at your vantage point?"

"No, I moved the moment you were out of sight. I'm fairly safe, at the moment, but I did hear sirens a minute or so ago…" he muttered. "In any case, are you alright?"

"Alright? Well, besides the bullet holes, I'm just peachy," Blank grumbled as she looked at the wound in her leg again. It wasn't quite as bad as the one in her hip, but it would make even walking painful for quite a while.

"Oh… sorry about that," he said softly. "I sort of… fumbled the magazine while loading it… I could've prevented you from getting shot if I had been a little faster."

"Well, I'm not dead, so it could have been worse," she smirked, twirling her knife in her paw. "Let's not worry about what you could have done and focused on what you can do for me now… I need an EVAC and a place where we can seal these bullet holes."

"EVAC is going to be tough… maybe impossible," Wolfgang muttered. "But… I think I have a safe place where we can patch you up…"

"Yeah, you're right… ah, we should stay separate," she grunted. "Just tell me where to go."

"223… fourth street…" he replied nearly a full minute later. He sounded extremely hesitant.

"You don't sound pleased to tell me that…" she observed. "And wait a moment… I'm still in the slums! Fourth street is like… three kilometers away!"

"Yeah, I know. But it's all we got, even though I'm not happy about it," he grumbled. "Just get moving as soon as you're able and stay safe… I hope you bring good news when you get here."

"I will," Blank sighed before he hung up. Although she was curious about why he sounded like he didn't want to tell her where the safehouse was, she didn't have time to focus on that. She could hear sirens in the distance, and they sounded like they were getting louder.

So she pocketed her phone and got to work on the bullet in her leg. Like she predicted, it wasn't quite as difficult to dislodge as the one in her hip had been, but it was still bleeding. She set the bullet aside once she got it out of her leg, before wrapping the wound in gauze. Hopefully it would hold the entire way to the safehouse.

She sucked in a huge breath as she grabbed the rim of the dumpster and hoisted herself off the ground. As much as she'd like to rest here for another hour… or day, the sirens had gotten even louder, and she needed proper treatment to her wounds. Rest would have to wait.

She grabbed her trench coat off the ground and slipped it onto her body. Her ears flicked as the sirens continued to get louder and louder. _A cruiser is coming down this street,_ she realized as she picked up the bloody bullets and put them in her trench coat pocket. While keeping her DNA off the scene had become impossible, considering how much blood had been pouring from the wounds, she definitely didn't want these military-grade, special rounds somehow being reverse-engineered and put onto the streets. That would just be stupid.

She sucked in another breath as the cruiser got closer. It was moving fairly slowly, so the officers were likely doing a thorough sweep of the area. She had two choices… either she could stay here in the alleyway and wait for them to pass… or she could engage them. Making up her mind, she pulled the MP5 off her back, before making her way towards the exit to the alleyway. She didn't really want to walk to fourth street… she'd rather have transportation.

As the cruiser got within a mere meter of the alleyway, Blank stepped out from the shadows, padding to a stop right in front of the vehicle. The driver of the squad car, a lion officer, Blank noted, slammed on the breaks the moment she came into view, stopping the car only a few inches away from hitting her.

The polar bear and lion officers stared at her in disbelief for only a second, as they were stunned she had just stepped out in front of their patrol car. But it was in that second Blank lifted her submachinegun and lit up the cop car with a stream of bullets.

The bullets punched through the windshield of the squad car, cracking the window, but not shattering it. The polar bear officer got the brunt of the punishment, as Blank concentrated more than half her magazine on him, considering he was the bigger threat.

The bullets had struck vital areas on the polar bear officer's chest and neck, causing him to slump forward in his seat, blood dripping from his wounds as the light left his eyes. Blank expended the rest of the magazine on the lion officer, who was struggling to exit the vehicle. He had thrown the door open, but forgotten his seatbelt was still on, causing him to fall onto the asphalt, his torso still in the vehicle.

But he had managed to escape the rest of the submachinegun's magazine, giving him time to pull his firearm from its holster. With his gun in one paw, he let his claws slide out of his other paw and slash at the seatbelt restricting him, allowing him to pull the rest of his torso out of the car.

But he wasn't even able to stand up before Blank rounded on him. She had tossed her empty MP5 aside in favor of her knife as she made it around the squad car door, grabbing his mane as she did. Letting out a feral roar, the lion officer managed to squeeze off two rounds into Blank's plate-carrier before the hyena rammed her knife through his throat.

He let out a gurgled cry of pain as she twisted the knife cruelly, before wrenching it out of his neck, splattering blood all over her flak jacket, and letting him fall limply onto the ground. Blank let out a grunt as she climbed into the cruiser and wiped her knife clean on the sleeve of the polar bear officer.

Noticing that she couldn't see through the cracked windshield, she knocked it out of its frame, letting it fall uselessly onto the hood, before it slid onto the ground. She sent one last passing glance towards the lion officer, who had fallen in such a manner that he was able to watch her shut the door and step on the gas. Johnson watched, completely helpless, as she drove away

XXX

 **Well, you all wondered if Blank could escape! And the answer is yes, yes she could. To be fair, though, Judy didn't know about Wolfgang sniping from a building, nor could she have prepared for him even if she did. So maybe it was an unfair fight… but fighting fair is for dead men!**

 **And so Blank makes her way towards Wolfgang's mysterious safehouse. It's actually a reference that only one (maybe two) of you will understand (the address of the safehouse, I mean), so I won't mention any names. One thing that I would like to note specifically for USA Patriot, the 'bone-eater' rounds mentioned by Blank are a type of ammo I made up specifically for SKY agents. They fire like regular rounds, but if the bullet hits something like armor or bone and comes to a stop, the rounds start to** ** _drill_** **into whatever they hit, causing more damage as they do. I don't know if there's anything like that in real life (I didn't really check), but for the purposes of this story, they exist.**

 **And with all that being said, I hope to see you all real soon. Again, posting is no longer fixed to one day, I just want to make that clear. I'll be posting chapters basically as soon as they're finished… but most likely you'll be seeing updates on weekends (Friday-Sunday). Stay tuned until next time!**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29 - Disorder:

Author's Note:

 **And we're moving right along, as quickly as possible, like I promised. Last chapter Blank made a daring escape and managed to get away. Most reviewers were fairly confident that Judy had won, but you all underestimated Blank!**

 **USA Patriot, thank you for another long review! Just a few things I'd like to point out. I know that Johnson should've hit Blank with the cruiser, but obviously she was supposed to get away. Also, 223 doesn't reference what an AR15 shoots… you'll have to keep reading to understand what 223 4** **th** **street means. The 'bone-eater' rounds I made up were really for J and the arctic vixen, because they're so small, the bullets their guns would be shooting (which are likely smaller than the average 9mm most handguns shoot) would have no effect on Blank's armored trench coat, or really be able to do much damage at all. So the 'drilling' of the rounds was so they could pose a bit of a threat and deal some damage.**

 **As for your comment on how I described the arctic vixen's head being 'mostly gone,' instead of 'blown clean off,' I'm not entirely sure if you're complimenting me or not. You kinda go off on a tangent without making your point clear (not that I don't love tangents). Also, in case you didn't like how I described her head, I would like to note that she's probably smaller than Nick (under 4 feet tall) and Wolfgang is using a custom sniper rifle with rounds larger than your average .50 cal. I'd imagine a headshot would leave the arctic vixen with very little of a head left.**

 **In any case this chapter is quite a bit longer than the last one… and I almost…** ** _almost_** **… held the chapter until Christmas. But I decided that Christmas isn't the best time to release a chapter… plus it's not really a Christmas-y chapter to begin with. But, interestingly, this story does take place pretty close to Christmas… I know it hasn't been brought up much, but the very last chapter is going to take place on Christmas (as my original release schedule had the last chapter coming out on Christmas… but things didn't work out like I planned). Please, enjoy!**

XXX

"First aid kit is in the bathroom!" Nick exclaimed as he and Judy rushed into their apartment. A gray and black striped bunny was cradled gently in his arms as he headed straight for his bedroom. While he hated the idea of getting his sheets all bloody, he definitely didn't want J dying on him. Not while he had access to valuable information.

Judy, on the other paw, ran straight towards the bathroom. She opened the cabinets underneath the sink and began tossing aside anything that wasn't a first aid kit. Eventually, buried in the back of the cabinet, she found the first aid kit, which she immediately rushed to her room.

Nick set J on his bed, making sure to move the comforter aside so it didn't get stained, before removing the gray and black striped rabbit's cast, tossing the blood-coated former suit jacket aside. Judy arrived a moment later with the kit, setting it next to the buck. She was breathing heavily, trying not to panic as J writhed in pain on the bed.

"What do we do first?" she asked, turning to look up at Nick as the fox held the buck down to prevent him from injuring himself.

"A temporary fix, Fluff," Nick grumbled as he sucked in a deep breath, before tearing off J's pants and undergarments, so they had clear access to the buck's hip and leg. "I don't think this wound is ever going to heal enough for him to be able to walk again… the entire right side of his hip has been shattered, and his leg bone has been damaged and thrown out of its socket. There's no way that it can be saved without _professional_ medical attention!"

"Well we can't amputate his leg here!" Judy huffed, crossing her arms. "Unless you wanna grab a really big knife…"

"No, no… I'm not going to cut off his leg in our apartment," the fox sighed, rubbing his temples. They were wasting time debating while J continued to writhe in pain. "I wouldn't know what to do with it."

"Well… then what are we gonna do?" the doe asked, raising an eyebrow. She did her best not to look at the half-naked buck, as that actually unnerved her more than the bloody hole in his side did.

"We'll disinfect the wound… sew it back together as best we can, and wrap it up as much as possible. Once he's stabilized, he can get the hell out of our apartment and figure out what to do about his own damn leg," Nick grumbled as he pulled the first aid kit closer to himself, opening it as he did.

"I'm sure when he goes crawling back to Lionheart, he'll amputate the damn leg himself," Judy sighed, before turning around and heading for the door. "I'll go find him some Advil."

Nick only grunted in acknowledgment as he poured a bit of the disinfectant onto a cotton ball and began rubbing it onto the buck's wound. J let out several loud cries of discomfort, only for Nick to hiss, "There's no way this is hurting as much as the bullet hole is."

J didn't respond, however. He only let out a soft whimper, before going oddly silent. Nick raised an eyebrow as he finished disinfecting the wound, before grabbing a needle and attempting to thread it. "Do you know how to sew?" Judy's voice sounded from the doorway only a moment later, just as he finally poked the thread through the eye of the needle.

"I do, actually," Nick managed a small smirk as he leaned over and began sewing up J's wound. The rabbit had gone completely silent, staring almost creepily at Nick as the fox sewed up the hole. "It was a useful skill to have on the streets, as I had to repair my own clothes, as I usually didn't have enough to buy new ones if mine were damaged."

"That does sound like a useful skill to have," Judy commented as she padded closer to J and held up the pills to his mouth. He stared at her for a few seconds, before opening his mouth and letting her pop the pills in. She hadn't brought him any water, so he was forced to dry swallow the pills.

Nick didn't reply as he continued to stitch the hole in J's side closed. He was a bit rusty with the needle, but it was like riding a bike, and he was quickly getting the hang of it again. He did the best job he could, as it was impossible to actually close the entire wound, before grabbing a roll of medical tape and wrapping it around the gray and black striped buck's hips and down his injured leg.

Nick made sure there were several layers of the tape on J's leg, making it look more like a cast than just a wrap. The fox ended up using the entire roll of gauze before finally pulling away from the buck, wiping his brow as he did. "That's as good as he's gonna get here, Fluff," he sighed.

"That's probably as good as he'll get in a hospital," Judy muttered. "How're you feeling, J?"

The buck had been oddly quiet after the disinfectant had been applied. He had stared at the two doing the work as if he had gone into shock. But he had remained lucid enough to take the Advil Judy had offered him, so neither the fox nor the doe were sure how conscious J actually was. "I feel fine," J answered in a soft, creepily calm tone that sent a shiver down Nick's spine.

"Right…" Judy muttered. "Well… you just stay here and rest up. When Nick and I deem you ready, we'll let you leave."

"That's fine," J replied in that same soft tone, giving Nick the chills once again. He sounded almost like one of those TV drama serial killers.

"In any case… do we have something to help him move around with, Nick?" Judy asked, turning away from the buck to look up at the fox. In truth, J was unnerving her too, and she couldn't wait to get out of this room.

"Huh?" Nick asked, looking down at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why would he need to move around?"

"Like… if he had to go to the bathroom or something. I don't really want to help him into the bathroom, as I'm sure you don't either, and I really don't want him wetting the bed either," the doe explained, crossing her arms. Unfortunately, the medical tape Nick had wrapped around J's torso didn't cover the buck's genitals… it was still uncomfortable for Judy to be in the same room as him.

"You make a good point, Fluff… hold on, I think I have just the thing!" Nick grinned, snapping his fingers together. He spun around on his heel, before heading over to his closet. He opened it to reveal the cluttered mess inside, to which Judy only shook her head. Nick could be surprisingly clean and messy at the same time.

The fox dug through his closet for a few minutes, before pulling out a crutch that looked to be the perfect size for J. "Here ya go, one crutch to help Bucky here to the bathroom," he grinned, setting the crutch on the bed next to J.

"Where did you get… no, never mind, I don't want to know," Judy shook her head.

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're worried about," Nick huffed, looking offended, despite the smirk on his face. "I broke my leg when I was young… about your tater-tot size, and the doctor gave me this crutch."

"Oh… well that's much better than what I was imagining," Judy chuckled. "Were you accident prone as a child?"

"No, not really. My broken leg was the first and only major injury I've ever had," he replied. "And it's healed up pretty nicely over the years. Not even a limp!"

Judy let out another chuckle before turning towards the door. "Come on, let's leave him to his rest," she said.

"Yup… Bucky needs his rest if he's going to be out of here before nightfall," Nick sighed as he followed Judy.

"Bucky?" Judy finally couldn't hold her curiosity in anymore.

"What, you don't like it?" the fox asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No… not really."

"Oh… that's a shame. Then… how about Jack?"

"I like it better than _Bucky_."

"Then Jack it is! It's no Carrots, that's for sure, though."

"Well, we can't have _two_ Carrots running around, can we?"

"Aw, jealous that Jack might steal your nickname, Carrots?"

"Wha?! No! I just… didn't…" Judy blubbered out.

"It's alright, Judy… you're the only Carrots for me," Nick grinned, leaning down, and snatching Judy up into his arms.

Judy let out an indignant squeal as she began squirming. "Nick!" she exclaimed, a blush spreading across her cheeks, embarrassed by the fact that J had clearly seen that exchange. But J didn't get to hear the rest of the conversation as Nick shut the door, blocking out the fox's response.

J waited a few minutes for the duo to make their way into the living room, before sitting up. He carefully reached up and touched a particular spot on his scalp, before letting out a soft sigh. A frown graced his face as he glared at his now useless leg. It didn't hurt anymore. Nothing hurt anymore.

So he turned over to grab at his ruined pair of pants. The fox had ungracefully torn the clothes from the buck's legs, but thankfully didn't seem to bother searching the pockets. J produced a phone from one of the pockets of his ruined suit pants. Thankfully it had been stashed on the side of his body that wasn't hit by the sniper round.

It was an old-fashioned flip phone, something that was easily disposable in case he had reason to believe his calls were being traced. He flipped the phone open and opened the contacts list, selecting the only number present. He held the phone up to his ear as he waited for the big boss to pick up.

It didn't take long for Lionheart to answer the phone. "J," he said simply.

"I can't feel anything," J whispered into the speaker. "Why can't I feel anything?"

"J? J, where are you?" Lionheart elected to ignore his agent's concerns. Typing could be heard in the background, but it was slow, as if Lionheart was only using one paw. "J, your chip isn't picking up its tracing signal."

"I was hurting… but now I'm not… why isn't anything hurting?" J muttered.

"J, what happened to SKY? Where are you?" Lionheart repeated, clearly getting worried. "Why can't I pick up your chip, J?"

"The sky has fallen, sir… I don't know where I am…" the buck replied. "I was hit, sir… I was in pain… but now I'm not…"

"Shit…" Lionheart hissed as he heard J's words. The rabbit was being vague, but it was clear SKY had failed to capture his rogue assets. The fact that he couldn't pick up J's tracker likely meant that it had been fried somehow.

"She killed my team… she killed them… but it doesn't hurt anymore. Why doesn't it hurt anymore, sir?" J asked, looking back down at his leg again.

"I don't know, J, but I'm going to fix it, I promise. Just tell me where you are," Lionheart ordered as typing picked up in the background again.

"Somewhere safe," the buck replied.

"That's not good enough, J… ah, never mind," Lionheart growled as he finished typing. "I activated the tracker on your phone. EVAC is coming to get you."

"No… no, they can't come and get me," J said immediately, shaking his head despite the fact Lionheart couldn't see it. "It's not over yet… it's not over yet…"

"I don't think you understand the situation we're in, then. Your team might be dead, but you're still alive," Lionheart growled. "I need to get you back to the lab where we can extract everything we need to know about your encounter with Hyena. Then I can send more teams after her."

"No! It's not over yet, sir! I can feel her coming for me… I can feel her footsteps approaching!" J exclaimed. "It's not over yet… I can still complete the mission! I haven't failed! I haven't failed!"

"J…" Lionheart trailed off, unsure of how he should respond.

"I haven't failed… I can feel her coming… I can feel her footsteps approaching… I can complete the mission… nothing hurts anymore… I can complete the mission…" J all but whispered.

"You're so stubborn…" Lionheart growled, practically grinding his teeth together. "EVAC will be there by nightfall to extract you, no matter what."

"I can feel her coming… I can feel her footsteps approaching… I can complete the mission…" J repeated, before Lionheart hung up. J slowly closed his phone before clenching it in his fist tightly, glaring at it. "I can't feel anything…" he growled to himself. He flipped his phone over and removed the bottom, spotting a flashing chip on the battery pack of the phone. "I haven't failed yet…"

XXX

Blank ditched the squad car and the body in a parking lot a few blocks away from the safehouse. Sure, several mammals had seen her leave the car, but Blank made sure she wasn't followed as she made her way towards the safehouse. The mammals that had seen her could call the cops all they liked, as long as they weren't sure where she went, she should be safe.

Using back alleys and shortcuts, ducking into office buildings and hopping over fences, Blank eventually made her way towards the safehouse Wolfgang had mentioned. And when she spotted the house that was sitting at two-two-three fourth street, she came to a complete stop to stare at the building. It was less of a safehouse, and more of a safemansion!

The house itself was huge, guarded on all sides by ten-foot-tall concrete walls, with a steel gate blocking anyone from getting anywhere near the house. The gate was open, but as Blank padded past it, it shut automatically behind her. _Fancy,_ Blank snickered internally as she headed for the porch.

Despite the fact that the gardens, at least Blank _assumed_ they were once gardens, had been overrun with weeds and grass, the porch looked amazing. It was every bit as massive and extravagant as the rest of the house, though Blank could tell the porch could use a good painting, as she could see cracks and chippings in the woodwork.

She raised her paw to knock on the door, but thought better of it. Wolfgang was likely already here, so she figured that she could just walk through the front door. She gripped the door handle and, thankfully, the door swung right open. But she didn't even have time to take a single step into the building before alarms began to blare.

She let out a surprised yelp, not having expected the security systems to be armed with the gate wide open. She stepped into the mansion and shut the door, hoping it would turn off the alarms. It didn't. So she looked around, eventually finding a white box with a keypad on it hanging on the wall to the left of the door.

Biting her lip, she held up a finger caked with dry blood to the keypad, trying to think of what the password might be. But as seconds ticked by and the alarm got even louder, she couldn't think of a single thing the password might be. _Perhaps this was something Wolfgang should've mentioned!_ she snarled internally, thoughts of where Wolfgang were sprouting in her mind not a moment later.

"Zero-six-twenty-one-ninety!" Wolfgang's deep voice boomed throughout the house, causing Blank to flick her ears. It was impossible to locate where he was by just the sound of his voice… but he sounded close.

Regaining her composure, she typed in the password Wolfgang had suggested, before the alarm shut off. She breathed a sigh of relief, before spinning around and padding deeper into the house, intent on finding Wolfgang. And she didn't have to search for very long.

The entryway opened up into a magnificent dining room, with an enormous table stretching nearly end to end in the middle of it. And at one end of the table, the end on the opposite side of the doorway Blank had entered from, sat Wolfgang. His sniper rifle was leaning against his chair while his handgun was lying on the table in front of him. He had put his feet up on the table and was holding a glass of wine, calmly swirling the drink with short, circular motions of his paw. And he did not look very pleased.

"Wolfgang!" Blank called out. Her voice echoed not just throughout the room, but throughout the entire house. "This place is huge! I feel like I have to yell for you to even be able to hear me!"

"Then maybe you should come closer," Wolfgang growled. His deep voice had no trouble carrying throughout the large room without him feeling the need to start shouting.

Blank's ear flicked as she heard his words. _He doesn't sound happy,_ she noted as she made her way over to him. He remained seated, calmly sipping from his glass of red wine, staring at her the entire time. She raised an eyebrow as she came to a stop in front of him, crossing her arms as she did. "So… where did you dig this place up?"

Wolfgang continued to stare at her for a few seconds, before draining the rest of his wine. He set the glass down and stood up, towering over Blank as he did. "Let's go take a look at those wounds," he said, ignoring the hyena's question. "The medical bay is this way…"

"Sure…" she raised an eyebrow as she followed behind him. She noticed how he ignored her question, but decided not to press the issue. He'd tell her when he was ready. At least, she hoped he would.

The medical bay was a pure white room at the end of one of the hallways connecting to the dining room. It looked like a clinic room, complete with a sink in one corner, and a rolling chair for the doctor. Wolfgang tore off a sheet of plastic covering the examination table and directed Blank to take off her trench coat and flak jacket, before helping her lie down on the bed.

"What is this place?" Blank muttered, mostly to herself, as Wolfgang went about washing his paws. He dried his paws off before reaching up to the cabinets above the sink and pulling down a box full of vials. Blank watched him from her position on the examination table as he began reading the labels on the vials.

Eventually he found the one he was looking for, setting the others aside, before grabbing a needle. He drew the liquid in the vial up into the syringe and padded over to Blank, grabbing her injured arm as he did. "Uh… what are you doing?" the hyena asked, though she didn't snatch her arm away from him.

"This is an immunity booster, it should help stave off infection… as I doubt whatever method you used to remove the bullets was clean," he explained as he searched for a vein in her arm. He quickly found one and injected the serum into her arm, before throwing the needle away in the trash.

The white wolf began pulling off the medical gauze Blank used to cover her wounds and checking to see how bad they were. "So what's the plan, doc?" the hyena asked as Wolfgang threw the bloody bandages aside. Her lifeforce was still dripping from the hole in her hip, but it was nowhere near as much as it had when she removed the bullet.

"With the immunity booster in your system, I'm going to clean the wounds, disinfect them, and then cover them again," Wolfgang replied as he grabbed a cloth and soaked it in water, before dabbing it against the hole in her hip. "We'll probably have to replace the bandages once or twice a day, at least for this wound, but they should heal eventually."

"I can't have these wounds slowing me down, Wolfgang… I need you to cauterize them," Blank ordered, hissing slightly as he cleaned her most serious wound.

"It's better to have them heal naturally," Wolfgang argued. "There's no need to cauterize them."

"I won't be able to fight at a hundred percent if these damn bullet holes start flaring up every time I need to fight," the hyena growled. "Cauterize them."

Wolfgang pressed the cloth roughly against the wound in her hip, causing her to let out a gasp. "Then maybe you shouldn't be fighting," he suggested, before heading over to the sink. He rinsed out the rag, before grabbing a few cotton balls and some disinfectant.

"What do you mean?" she asked, cocking her head. He poured a bit of the disinfectant on a cotton ball and began rubbing it over the hole in her hip.

"I mean maybe it's time to stop all this. I don't know what you found out in that warehouse, but after slaughtering SKY, there's no way you're going to be able to find the Matriarch before Lionheart catches you," he growled, before walking back over to the cabinet and pulling out a few large, heavy-duty bandages.

"Absolutely not. I told you that I'm not leaving this city until the Matriarch is dead," Blank snarled. "Once I kill her, then we can leave. We can go to Bunnyburrow and become carrot farmers, or we could go out even further into the country side and survive on nothing more than our own wit. I want nothing more than to leave… but I can't until I finish my mission."

"Your mission is a waste of time," he grunted as he slapped the bandage onto her wound. "And it's only gotten us in trouble."

She glared at him, her eye twitching as he began working on the hole in her leg, cleaning it with the wet rag. "What's with you?" she hissed as he pressed particularly hard on her leg. "You were so excited to finish the mission this morning… but now you're asking me to abandon it?!"

He paused, the wet rag still pressed against the hole in her leg, before he slowly turned to glare at her. Their eyes remained locked, frowns on both of their faces, neither of them backing down. Blank's question hung in the air like a ton of bricks and slowly but surely it overwhelmed the white wolf.

"It's this house," he eventually sighed, breaking eye contact with her as he looked down at her leg. "I've only been here for twenty minutes and it's already getting to me…"

"Getting to you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "What is this place? Where did you find it?"

He couldn't stop himself from snorting. "Oh yes, I forgot… you didn't grow up here in Zootopia, did you?" he muttered. "Well, then let me give you a proper introduction. _This_ was the Fritz manor. Home of Beowulf and Hundin Fritz… and their three children. Katherine, Lupis, and Wolfgang Fritz."

"Was?" Blank asked, one of her ears flicking again. Wolfgang finally began working on her leg again, moving the wet rag, and pouring disinfectant onto a cotton ball, which he rubbed onto the wound.

"Indeed…" he sighed as he applied a bandage over the bullet hole. "There once _was_ a wealthy, well-respected family known as the Fritzes who _used_ to own this house. But they're long gone."

"What happened to them?" she asked, curious as to why he referred to himself being gone as well.

" _Lionheart happened!_ " Wolfgang snarled, slamming his fist down onto the examination table, right next to the hyena's leg. "He swept through this home like a storm… slaughtering my parents and our servants, despite their innocence, and kidnapped myself and my older brother and sister."

The hyena blinked a few times, silence reigning for several moments as she comprehended what he had just said. But despite the silence, his words still rang in her ears. "Why?" she finally asked. "Why would Lionheart do something like that."

"Revenge… maybe. My father was one of the wealthiest men in the city and he refused to support Lionheart's campaign. Maybe it was because my father knew about the program that gave birth to you and refused to fund it… and Lionheart needed to silence him. Or perhaps it was just to liquidate Beowulf's assets," Wolfgang shrugged. "I don't pretend to know _why_ Lionheart did what he did. Knowing for sure would only make it worse."

"Well…" Blank floundered, trying to think of something to say that would comfort the white wolf. But nothing came to mind, unfortunately. "At least he didn't kill you… right?"

"Only because I was useful to him. He locked me up on his godforsaken black site just so I could be his personal hacker. My brother, Lupis, was worthless to him… he had no natural skills or talents, so Lionheart had him killed," Wolfgang growled.

"What about your sister?" Blank asked as she picked up the wet cloth and began cleaning off the injuries on her arm. It was clear Wolfgang was too distracted with his story to help.

The white wolf let out a growl as he ground his teeth together, his frown somehow deepening. "My sister was a lot like you… she had Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Lionheart saw it fit to put her in the same program you were put into," he replied, his voice dangerously low. "And I haven't seen her since."

Blank remained silent as she poured some disinfectant on the last cotton ball and got to work rubbing it over the wounds on her arm. No matter how badly she wanted to comfort him, she knew anything she could say would only make things worse. So she tossed the cotton ball in the trash along with the others and applied the bandage, waiting to see what Wolfgang would say.

"So… hopefully that shines a little bit of _light_ onto why I'm not so happy to be here. I haven't stepped foot in this house in twenty years and it still hurts just as much as it did the day the murder happened," Wolfgang growled. "And that's why I want you to just abandon your 'mission.'"

He turned around to pad away, but didn't get very far as Blank sat up and grabbed his shoulder. "Give me one more day," Blank begged. "One more day to finish this. No matter if I fail or succeed we'll leave the city tomorrow night."

Wolfgang didn't respond for a few seconds as he glared at the floor, before finally pulling away from the hyena and walking towards the door. "Fine. One day, but no more than that. And if you refuse to leave the city, then I'll leave without you," he growled, not turning around to face her as he left the medical bay. The word 'wait' hadn't even formed on Blank's lips before he called out, his deep voice booming throughout the house, "And I'd like to be left alone for tonight!"

And then he was gone, leaving Blank alone on the examination table. And she sat there, alone, for quite some time, a frown etched deep onto her muzzle. But as the seconds turned into minutes, she hopped off the table and grabbed her flak jacket and trench coat, but did not put them on. A look of determination crossed her face as she headed out of the medical bay and headed down the hall.

Most of the doors were shut, but one in particular stood out to the hyena. It was marked 'Kat's Room,' and when she turned the handle, the door swung open. A wall of dust slammed into her as she walked into the room, though she resisted the urge to cough. She fumbled with the light switch, before eventually managing to flick it on, illuminating the entire room.

Blank's eyes widened when she saw the room was painted a deep, blood red color. It was on every wall as well as the ceiling. But despite the unnerving color of the room, it otherwise looked quite cozy, even though no one had lived in this room for quite a while. Pillows were stacked high on a large bed, and there were even a few stuffed animals lined up at the end of the bed.

Blank dropped her flak jacket and trench coat before slipping out of her pants, leaving her completely naked. But she had no intention of climbing into bed, instead, she went on the hunt. She opened up the closet and pulled out a few items, tossing them onto the bed, before turning towards a dresser and opening drawer after drawer, removing more items and either tossing them onto the bed or onto the floor.

Wolfgang was an especially tall wolf, but even if his sister had been normal size, Blank was hoping her clothes would fit the hyena. And as Blank began picking out and trying on Kat's clothes, she quickly found out that they were almost the same size. The young she-wolf was just a bit smaller than Blank was now, but the hyena squeezed into an outfit nonetheless.

In the end, Blank had put on a tight shirt that showed off her midriff, a very small miniskirt, a jacket that didn't go any farther down her torso than her shirt did, and a hat that she could use to at least partially hide her face. But something seemed to be missing.

Getting a flash of inspiration, Blank dropped onto her stomach to look underneath Kat's bed. And sure enough, the space underneath the young wolf's bed was filled with shoes. _There aren't any without a heel…_ Blank grumbled to herself as she selected a pair and pulled them out from underneath the bed.

The hyena had never worn heels before, but didn't hesitate in slipping the pair of knee-high boots onto her feet. They were surprisingly comfortable, but as she stood up, she wobbled so much she felt like she was going to fall over. _These'll take some getting used to,_ Blank sighed internally as she made her way over to the outfit she had worn into the mansion.

She grabbed her knife and slipped it into one of her boots, successfully concealing the weapon. She wasn't sure if she would need it, but it was something she never wanted to leave a safe place without. Taking a deep breath, she headed towards the door, still wobbling slightly.

If she wanted to complete her mission in the period Wolfgang gave her, she was going to need a little help. And, in order to get that help, she needed to leave the safehouse. Lionheart had likely plastered her image all over the city, but most mammals likely wouldn't be able to spot her outside of her flak jacket and easily spotted trench coat, especially with the skull on the back. But wearing one of Wolfgang's sister's outfits… she should be able to make her way through the streets relatively undetected. And if push came to shove, she did have her knife with her…

XXX

 _This is absolutely insane! Why are you going along with this?_

 _Because this is our best shot at taking her down,_ Judy growled to herself, mentally reaffirming her decision. She and Nick had argued for a few minutes, but eventually he gave up trying to get her to back down. But he forced her to promise that she would call for backup if she needed it.

 _Not that either Nick or Jack would be any help,_ Judy muttered internally. If Blank was armed, Nick wouldn't last more than a few seconds against the hyena, while Jack, a nickname that Judy had taken a liking to, though she had yet to say it to the gray and black striped buck's face, was too injured to be of any use. It was up to Judy to defeat the hyena alone.

She sat on the couch, gun in her lap as the seconds ticked by. Nick and Jack had hidden in the fox's room with the door closed, hoping Blank wouldn't go exploring. Judy wasn't entirely sure how Jack knew Blank was coming, but she decided not to question it.

Something had… happened to the gray and black striped buck. Judy wasn't entirely sure _what_ had happened, but something had indeed happened. While he should be in immense pain, he didn't seem at all bothered by his injured leg. Sure he needed the crutches to move around, but he was definitely mobile, when he should be resting instead of moving. And there was that blank, dead stare that the buck had adopted that shook Judy to her core. Even Nick seemed bothered by Jack's sudden change in demeanor.

A loud knock brought Judy out of her thoughts, causing her to turn towards the door. She sucked in a deep breath before calling out, "It's unlocked!" There was a short pause as Judy gripped the handle of her gun a bit harder. It was still resting in her lap, but she was ready to use it at any second. _Remember the plan,_ Judy muttered internally as the door knob began turning.

The door swung open and Blank came strutting quite confidently into Nick and Judy's apartment, a smirk firmly on her face. She spotted Judy sitting on the couch with a frown on her face, a gun in her lap. The hyena shook her head and let out a soft chuckle as she made her way over to the couch, stopping in front of the coffee table, so that she was across from the bunny on the couch. "Expecting me?" she asked.

"I just had a feeling you'd be showing up," Judy replied, gritting her teeth slightly. But her eyes widened when she noticed what Blank was wearing. _No flak jacket…_ the bunny realized, unable to help herself from glancing down at the firearm in her lap.

"Lucky guess," Blank grunted, watching Judy look down at her gun.

"I suppose you could call it that," the rabbit shrugged.

"Where's your foxy boyfriend?" the hyena eventually asked after a few seconds of staring.

"Not here. This is between you and me, I don't want him caught up in this," Judy growled.

"Planning revenge, are you?" Blank asked, still smirking. "For the officers I killed, I guess."

"Justice… not revenge," Judy corrected. "Just like you're here to get justice for me 'betraying' you."

"Same thing. And trust me, I considered it," Blank chuckled softly as she made her way around the coffee table, stopping in front of Judy. She leaned down so that her face was hovering mere inches above Judy's, an easy-going smirk still on her face. "After all… I did something no mammal in my position is supposed to do… I gave you my trust. And I protected you when it would have been easier to just let you die."

Judy didn't react to Blank's face being so close to her own. She just glared up at Blank, resisting the urge to bring her gun to bear on the hyena. But Blank didn't resist the urge to lash out, faster than Judy could react, slapping the gun off of the rabbit's lap, before wrapping her paw around the Bunny Cop's neck, and lifting her off the couch.

"I had considered barging in here and just _wringing_ your little bunny neck, before going on a rampage, slaughtering all the cops in the city," the hyena hissed dangerously. Judy let out a cough as Blank's paw around her neck made it difficult to breath. Judy grabbed ahold of the hyena's wrists and tried to move them away, but only managed to slide her paws up Blank's arm and beneath her jacket.

"But…" Blank trailed off, her tone softening immediately as she dropped the bunny back onto the couch. "You're still quite valuable to me. And I want to make you a deal."

Judy bounced as she hit the couch. Her gun, however, had toppled off the couch and hit the floor, luckily not going off as it did. Judy didn't even look at her firearm, or even think about retrieving it as she rubbed her neck and glared up at the hyena. "What sort of deal?" she growled.

"You're still missing something… or someone, aren't you?" Blank asked, smirk dropping off her face. "That polar bear officer and the squad car I stole. I'll tell you where they are… and promise not to harm any of your other officers."

Judy couldn't stop her eye from twitching dangerously. She had only found out about Johnson's fate an hour ago, but his partner, Anderson, and his squad car were missing. She had suspected Blank had been involved, but to hear the hyena confirm it… it only enraged the little bunny. "How can I trust you?" she growled. "After everything you've done?"

"Trust me? I should be asking that of _you!_ When I raided the precinct, I used tranq darts because I didn't _want_ to put any of your officers down. But you surrounded me, backed me into a corner, and pointed firearms at me. I didn't have a choice," Blank growled. "Your officers would still be alive if you had stayed away."

Judy bit her tongue before she could retort and start another fight. _Remember the plan… remember the plan…_ she muttered internally again. "Fine. It doesn't matter anyways, after today, I doubt anyone at the ZPD wants to go toe to toe with you again," she sighed. Which wasn't a lie. "What do you want in return, then?"

"Information," Blank replied. "Wolfgang is proving to be less than helpful and I need someone to help me put the pieces together. And you've already passed my tests."

"And after I help you, you'll leave?" Judy asked carefully.

"This apartment? Yes. This city… not until I've killed the Matriarch," Blank replied. "Can you help me?"

"I'll do my best," the rabbit replied. "Give me the pieces."

"When I infiltrated your police precinct, I interrogated the two hyenas you had arrested. There I found out that the mercenary army was separated around dozens of different bases throughout the city, occasionally moving bases when they can," Blank explained. "I managed to track down the base those two hyenas had used, the warehouse you nearly arrested me at, and went to investigate for possible clues of what they're looking for in a base of operations."

"I see…" Judy nodded. "What did you find out?"

"Not much… unfortunately. It looks like they need a lot of space, which makes sense, and obviously they need an abandoned building…" the hyena trailed off. "And I assume that they need somewhere that smells awful, making it more difficult for anyone to know they had been staying in the building."

"You mean the sewer grate right in the middle of the floor, right?" Judy asked, her eyes widening slightly as an idea popped into her head.

"Yeah, of course," Blank snorted. "What else could be the cause of that putrid smell?"

"Did you notice that the sewer grate had a handle on it? Or that there was a ladder leading down into the sewers?" Judy asked, her eyes sparkling slightly. She was unable to help her ears from springing up tall on her head in excitement. It felt so good to be solving Blank's mysteries again… even if they had only led to trouble, she very much enjoyed solving the puzzles.

"Uh… so?" the hyena asked, her ear flicking in confusion. She didn't want to admit that she had not noticed those things.

"Well… what if instead of just looking for abandoned buildings with lots of space that smell bad, which is just about every abandoned building, we look for buildings with some sort of access to the sewers?" Judy suggested.

"That makes sense… I suppose…" Blank scratched the back of her neck.

"Look, when we broadcasted your picture all over the city, not a single mammal called in to say they had seen anything like you. If there were really hundreds of hyenas roaming the city, _someone_ would've seen them moving around," the rabbit explained. "But…"

"If they were using the sewers to move around, they would never have needed to go out into the open," Blank finished. "It would also make them incredibly difficult to track… if you picked up the sewer smell, it would only lead you back to the sewers…"

"I think that this apartment complex has some sort of access to the sewers in the basement, and I would wager that the apartment complex of 'Howard Tuskly' would have similar access," Judy said. "Well… if we know how they're getting around… it should be pretty easy to track them down, right?"

"I don't have time to search Zootopia's sewers in their entirety," the hyena sighed. "What I need is a list of possible locations of where they could be, then search there."

"Well… if the only other criteria are that it has to be abandoned with plenty of space, I'm sure a quick Zoogle search will help," the bunny shrugged, pulling out her phone. Blank waited patiently for her to see what she could find on Zoogle.

"There aren't _that_ many abandoned buildings in Zootopia, as most of the old, useless properties get torn down and replaced fairly quickly," Judy read off her phone. "But if you're looking for something old and spooky, then this list is for you. Here are the top ten spookiest abandoned buildings in Zootopia."

"Well that's helpful," Blank chuckled.

"Indeed. And after checking which of these buildings have access to the sewers, only three of them do," Judy explained. "There's an abandoned hospital out in Tundra Town…"

"No, no, they wouldn't be in Tundra Town. It's too cold for us hyenas," Blank chuckled. "And I doubt they have winter wear either."

"Ah, well, strike that off the list. There's also an abandoned hospital in the Rainforest district that might fit the bill. Apparently it was shut down after the staff began performing questionable treatments to mental patients," Judy read off her phone. "And there's also a place on the edge of Happytown, an old hotel that closed because it was too close to the slums and couldn't attract business."

"A hotel? With actual beds?" Blank asked, her ear flicking in interest.

"I assume so. I don't know how good of condition the beds are… the hotel was shut down nearly a hundred years ago…" Judy trailed off.

"That's the place," Blank growled. "It has to be… the Matriarch would want to sleep on an actual bed… and it was around before the hyenas were banished from Zootopia."

"The Matriarch? You said that earlier, but I forgot to ask… who is she?" Judy asked, looking up at Blank.

"Doesn't matter, at least not to you. You're going to stay out of this… now give me the address!" the hyena huffed.

"Fine, be that way…" the bunny grumbled as she looked back down at her phone. "It's on seven ninety-seven, seventy-fifth street."

"Thanks," Blank said as she stood and padded towards the door. "The cruiser I stole is in an alleyway about five blocks from this apartment complex."

Judy's ears flattened against her head as she remembered the deal she and Blank made. "About that…" the bunny spoke up, halting the hyena in her step.

"A deal's a deal, Bunny Cop… don't think you're going back on it now," Blank growled, not turning around to face Judy. She didn't need eyes on the back of her head to know that the rabbit had glanced down at her firearm.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'll never forgive you for killing those officers. Even if your back was up against the wall, and even if I pushed you there, somehow I'll bring justice upon you," Judy said. "It might not be today, or even tomorrow… but one day you'll pay for your crimes."

"I know I will, Bunny Cop," Blank sighed. "But I won't be paying for anything while the Matriarch and her clan is still alive."

Judy watched silently as Blank walked out the door, pushing the brim of her hat down to cover her face again. Once the door shut, Judy let out a deep breath she didn't know she had been holding. _I did it,_ she smirked to herself as she slid off the couch and padded over to her gun. She picked it up and holstered it, just as her and Nick's room door opened.

Nick came out first, still holding his gun, but relief washed over his face when he saw that Blank was gone and Judy was fine. He padded over to her and pulled her into a deep hug. J came out next, his crutch hitting the floor with a dull thud every time he took a step forward. "Did you plant it?" he asked, giving Judy a hollow stare.

"I did. She never suspected a thing…" Judy nodded as Nick pulled her even tighter against his chest.

"Then my mission is complete," J managed a small smirk, though it quickly fell off his face, that blank look returning once again. "Now if you don't mind… I'd like to get a bit more rest. Tomorrow I'll take you down to the lab to get your venom sample results."

"Thank you, Jack," Judy said, giving him a smile as Nick finally let go of her. She decided now was as good of a time as any to see how Jack liked his new name.

The gray and black striped rabbit paused on his way back to Nick and Judy's room, but only shook his head, deciding not to comment on it. Once the door shut, Nick turned towards Judy with a wide smirk. "I think that means he likes it," he snickered.

"Maybe," Judy sighed as she pulled herself back up onto the couch. "But I think we're going to be sleeping on the couch tonight…"

"As long as I'm next to you, the couch is just as good as our bed," Nick grinned as he laid down next to her. She leaned over and nabbed a blanket hidden under the coffee table before pulling it over the two of them. After that, sleep came easy for them, as the idea of finally defeating Blank sent them into a deep slumber. One that brought good dreams.

XXX

 **Whew… this was a rather long chapter, eh? What I ended up doing was actually cutting a scene from the last chapter and attaching it to this one (IE the first scene), which is why last chapter was a bit short and this one a bit long. But I think it makes more sense this way.**

 **In any case, hopefully you all read this chapter with a careful eye. There's lots of little things here that might be interesting for those of you who are looking for such things. Things that those of you who would rather just read the story will have to wait to find out for sure! So stay tuned to find out!**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30 – Haunted:

Author's Note:

 **Chapter 30! It's been awhile since I've gotten a story this far, but we aren't done yet! Oh no, we still have quite a ways to go… somewhere between five and ten chapters left, if anyone's curious. I'm coming to grips with the reality that this story won't be finished by the new year, or even by the end of my winter break, I will continue to post this story weekly (hopefully) even after my Spring semester starts up again.**

 **In any case, last chapter we got quite a bit of interesting information, and quite a few of you picked up on some key points that were hidden within the lines. Others are more content to wait and see what happens, and that's fine too! So please, enjoy!**

XXX

Blank let out a sigh as she walked up to the Fritz family mansion. She still had a good twenty hours before her promise to Wolfgang expired, but she needed rest. Her hip was flaring up and her leg was aching. Her bandages likely needed to be replaced after all the walking she had just done. _If only that damn stubborn wolf had cauterized my wounds like I had asked,_ she grumbled internally as she walked up to the door.

She couldn't risk anyone noticing cars coming in and out of the driveway of the Fritz manor, since no one was supposed to live there. In fact, she couldn't even risk entering and exiting from the front gate. She had ducked in and out of back alleys and managed to find a way to climb over the wall surrounding the estate, before limping towards the front door. It was safer, but put more stress on her injuries.

The front door was unlocked, as she had made sure it was when she left. She didn't have a key, and she didn't want Wolfgang to know she was leaving, thus she hadn't asked him for one. But she had armed the building's alarm, just in case, for whatever reason, someone had tailed her the first time she entered the mansion, when she wasn't being careful, and tried to break in.

The alarm sounded as she opened the door, but she disarmed it with the same code Wolfgang had given her earlier. The alarm stopped beeping and she shut and locked the door, before rearming the alarm. She planned on getting at least a good eight hours of sleep, leaving her with twelve hours to finish her mission. It would take time to find suitable weapons, but she'd have enough to spare. Hopefully Wolfgang would feel like helping in the morning…

She made her way into the dining room, letting out a loud yawn as she did. She remembered the room where she had found the outfit she was currently wearing, and planned to sleep there for the night, since it seemed like Wolfgang didn't want to share a bed. She made her way towards the hallway that connected Wolfgang's sister's old room to the dining room, before pausing as she heard a voice behind her.

"Where did you disappear to?" Wolfgang's deep voice once again echoed throughout the dining room, causing Blank to jolt to a stop. She whirled around to see him sitting back at the head of the table, another glass of wine in his paw. But this time, he was puffing on a cigar.

"Since you didn't feel like helping, I had to turn elsewhere," Blank huffed, crossing her arms. "And besides, I thought you said you were going to bed. What are _you_ doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep," he admitted with a sigh, taking a sip of his wine. "This house… still haunts me."

"Oh?" Blank cocked her head. Letting a smirk play on her lips, she limped over to the sitting white wolf and sat down on the edge of the table right next to him, crossing her legs playfully so he couldn't look up her skirt. "Sounds like you need a distraction."

"… Are those my sister's clothes?" he deadpanned, raising an eyebrow.

"Depends," she smirked.

"On what?" he sighed, taking a drag on the cigar he was holding.

"If you're going to share that or not," she chuckled, pointing at the cigar. He rolled his eyes, but handed it over to her, letting her take a few drags, relaxing immediately afterwards. "Yes, these are your sister's clothes… a bit tight, but I think they look nice."

"Nice is an understatement," Wolfgang rolled his eyes. "If you want cigars, I can get you more. They're the closest things to food in this house."

"Huh? There's no food here?" Blank asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Nope, no food. And nothing to drink either… well, except wine. But this is the last of it," he chuckled, holding up his glass.

"Wha… hey! Share some of that too!" she huffed, snatching the glass from his paws and downing it in a single gulp. "Well that's just great. No food, nothing to drink. Good thing we'll only be here for tonight then, right?"

"I suppose so," he grumbled, leaning back in his chair. He still _really_ didn't want to stay the night here. "Can I have that back? Like I said, you can get your own," he asked, gesturing towards the cigar.

"Yeah, sure… it isn't really doing it for me," the hyena sighed, handing over the cigar.

"What happened to your cigarettes?" the white wolf smirked. "I haven't seen you smoking any in quite a while… I had almost thought you quit."

"No, I just only have two left," she muttered. "I'm trying to save them for when I really need 'em. Especially since getting more is going to be a bit of a hassle…"

It was silent for a few minutes as Wolfgang puffed on the cigar and propped his feet up on the table, tilting the chair back on its back legs. Finally, after a long pause with no conversation, he asked, "So… what exactly were you doing out of the mansion?"

"Like I said, I was getting help," Blank replied. "It's why I borrowed your sister's clothes. So I could blend in just a bit easier."

"Makes sense… but that still doesn't tell me where you went," he sighed.

"I went to visit our favorite Bunny Cop to see if she could make heads or tails of the clues I gathered," the hyena smirked.

"Was she able to?"

"That bunny is remarkable… probably smarter than both of us combined. Remember that little problem we couldn't figure out for the life of us the other day? How a hyena army that big not only entered the city undetected, but has managed to move about the city without ever being seen?"

"Vaguely… I'm guessing the Bunny Cop managed to figure it out?"

"The sewers, Wolfgang… they're in the fucking sewers! It's the only explanation that makes sense! And with the clues I gathered, Judy managed to figure out the most likely place that our mercenary army is hiding out."

"So it's Judy now, is it?" Wolfgang asked with a smirk. "Go on, where is it then?"

"An abandoned hotel near the slums. It has access to the sewers and plenty of space for the remaining hyenas to hide out," Blank grinned. "All I need is a map, guns, and eight hours of rest, then we can get moving."

"I can find a map of the sewers on Zoogle and print it for you, and I'm pretty sure my father's firearm collection is still intact, but…" Wolfgang trailed off.

"Your father has a firearm collection?" the hyena asked, cocking her head. She either ignored Wolfgang's hesitance to reply to the last thing on her checklist, or she didn't notice it.

"Oh yeah, a pretty large one. Everything from Muskets to Garands," the white wolf nodded. "But, Blank… I don't want to stay here."

"Garands? That's not exactly recent…" she trailed off. "Wait… what do you mean you don't want to stay here?"

"I mean exactly that. This place… it hurts far too much to stay here. That's why I was thinking… we could do this tonight. Catch those hyena bastards off-guard while they're asleep," he suggested.

Blank stared at him for a few minutes, before bursting out laughing. "Honey, I love your enthusiasm… but I'm absolutely exhausted. It took me four hours to limp over to the Bunny Cop's place and back because you refused to cauterize my wounds, and I'm hurting, and I'm exhausted… I need rest," she admitted. It wasn't easy admitting weakness, but if there was anyone on the planet she trusted with her weakness, it was Wolfgang.

The white wolf's claws bit into the fine mahogany table, scoring into the wood in frustration as he exhaled slowly, smoke billowing out of his nostrils. "I can't wait that long," he growled.

"Well I have to wait that long," the hyena huffed, crossing her arms. "Look, just help me back into the infirmary, change out my bandages, and then we can fall sleep together… maybe after a few rounds of hardcore sex. That should help take your mind off things."

"You don't understand," Wolfgang shook his head, before sucking in a deep breath and holding it for a few moments. "Everywhere I look I see _ghosts_ … I hear their voices. It's not just my dreams… even being awake is a living nightmare in this demon house. And it's hard… it's so fucking hard to ignore it all… even now, with you right here in front of me… I remember when my father sat in this very chair, with me on his lap. _I can see him now… he looks so disappointed in me…_ "

Blank watched as his paws balled into fists, his claws scoring even deeper into the rich wood as he struggled not to react to what he was clearly hallucinating. Whether he was angry or struggling not to cry, the hyena couldn't quite tell. She scratched the back of her neck, trying desperately to think of some way to calm the distraught wolf down.

"Well… shit," Blank sighed as she slid off the table. She had thought for a few moments, and although she didn't have any idea what she should say, she knew she had to say _something_. So she hopped onto his lap, straddling his waist as she did. She guided his paws to her rump, where he helped her stay on his lap while she put her paws behind his head and forced his muzzle closer to hers.

He looked up at her, tears threatening to fall from his amber eyes. He was breathing slow, ragged breaths as he continued his struggle to keep his emotions in check. "I'm the first to admit that making others feel better isn't exactly my strong suit," she started, making sure she had his attention first. "But damnit man, pull yourself together!"

Wolfgang stared at her for a few seconds before he let out a soft chuckle, "Is that really the best you've got?"

"No, I'm just getting warmed up! Look, Wolfgang… you need to think of our future. It's only eight hours in this house… and then we're leaving. _For good,_ " she said, a determined look spreading across her face. "After we eliminate the Matriarch, we're leaving this city and we're going far, far away. Far away from this house… far away from the pain and the misery this place has caused us."

"Us?" he asked softly, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes us… you're not the only one who has suffered inside this city," she admitted, frowning slightly. "While your family was being slaughtered before your eyes, mine gave me up for nothing more than scrap metal, because I was _different_. I was brainwashed and trained to be a killing machine… we've both suffered injustices, Wolfgang… and we need to get away from it all."

She sucked in a deep breath before continuing, "Once we've finished our mission, then we can fly, drive, run, walk… crawl, if we have to, far, far away. We'll start a new life in a new city, get new names and new identities, we'll get jobs like normal mammals who are a part of a community… we'll be free of this madness! But you need to last eight more hours here… without rest, we'll be crushed on the battlefield, our dreams and hopes ripped asunder. Please, Wolfgang… for our future."

"Our future… huh?" Wolfgang sighed, closing his eyes as he bowed his head even more.

"Our future," Blank repeated, nodding her head in affirmation.

"Well… in that case… I suppose eight hours in hell is worth a lifetime with you," he said, giving her a small smirk. "Are those rounds of hardcore sex still up for grabs?"

"Now there's the Wolfgang I know," she grinned, letting go of his head as she did. "I bet it'll only take you a few seconds to rip these clothes off me."

"I don't doubt it," he chuckled as she slipped off his lap. She offered him a paw and he accepted it, helping her hoist him out of his seat. Using his spare paw, he wiped his eyes of the tears that had gathered there, but hadn't fallen, and then pushed his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose, as they had practically fallen off while he was looking down at her. "They suit you, by the way."

"You think so? Maybe I'll wear something like this when we start our new lives, how's that sound?" she asked with a grin. To emphasize her point, she attempted to do a twirl, but winced in pain and nearly fell over. Thankfully Wolfgang caught her by grabbing her arm, preventing her from hitting the floor. "I'm guessing that I still can't convince you to cauterize these wounds?" she asked as he helped her back onto her feet.

"You may have given one hell of a speech a moment ago, but there's no way I'm cauterizing those bullet holes. It's better for you to heal naturally," he huffed. "Besides, there's no easy way to preform a cauterization in this house."

"Well it was worth a shot…" she sighed. "Fine then, let's just change these bandages and fuck the night away!" She began tugging on his paw, trying to drag him towards the infirmary, considering that it didn't look like it was going to be the other way around.

He let out a deep chuckle as he let her drag him towards the infirmary. The happy smile on her face melted away his fears and anxieties about this house. Even though he could still see his father out of the corner of his eye, he could ignore it because of _her_. "I love you," he said, more than loud enough to hear, once again his deep voice reverberated throughout the dining room.

It was a slip of his tongue, he realized as she came to a complete stop, seemingly frozen in place, almost causing him to crash into her. His heart skipped a beat when he realized what he had just done. Despite their… intimacy, and their joking nature, he had never actually told her he loved her. And he knew it was stupid of him to do that, considering that he _did_ actually love her. It was something he had come to terms with a long time ago.

And he wasn't afraid of rejection, no, he expected it. He knew she only wanted a casual, exclusively sex-based relationship, it was likely the most she could ever possibly handle. She wasn't looking for more, and she didn't need more than that. No, he was afraid of her realizing that _he_ needed more than that. And maybe it was because she had implied that she wanted to spend her knew life with him that made him make such a stupid decision, but now he seriously doubted she would want to spend the night together… and without her… he wasn't sure if he could make it.

While Wolfgang was silently cursing himself for making such a stupid mistake, Blank was undergoing a completely different crisis. One fundamentally different than anything Wolfgang ever would have expected. She wasn't frozen in fear, anger, or even surprise. She wasn't trying to comprehend what he had just said, struggling to think of the right words to say back, or even doing her absolute best to contain a violent reaction.

Rather, she was simply struck by the realization that she had never had those three words spoken to her before. She had grown up as a monster, a killing machine that eventually evolved into a weapon of mass destruction. Not even her own mother loved her. The idea that she was loved was so… _comforting_ to the lonely hyena that it lowered all of her barriers, walls, and wards around her heart.

Wolfgang's heart dropped as she let go of his paw, letting hers hang against her side. And when he heard her speak his name in such a soft tone, it caused his back to straighten, allowing him to adopt a rigid pose. "Is it true?" she asked, still with that same soft tone, though she had yet to turn around to face him.

 _She didn't kill me immediately… that's a start,_ he sighed internally. But now was not the time to back down. He had already let it slip, and if he took it back or tried to play it off as a joke, it would only end up making things worse. He had to fess up. "Yes… it's true," he admitted, his posture remaining rigid. He didn't go into detail, she hadn't asked, and likely didn't care. She just wanted to know the truth.

Silence hung in the air as she poured over those words. She had asked for the truth, and she knew he would never lie to her. As the minutes ticked by, she finally turned around, the edge from her gaze gone, her features softening before him. As expected, externally, he looked completely calm, if a little stiff… but she could practically hear his heart pounding in his chest. "Wolfgang, I-"

She was interrupted by four loud knocks on the front door. Her eyes immediately narrowed as she turned to glare at the entryway connecting the front door to the dining room. "Are you expecting company?" she asked, not glancing at Wolfgang.

"Uh… everyone should think this place is empty," Wolfgang replied, frowning slightly. He had no idea what she was about to say, but it wasn't looking like he was going to be finding out any time soon as he watched her take a few steps towards the front door.

She paused when she was about halfway down the table as another four knocks echoed throughout the house. She turned back to say something else to Wolfgang, but before she could even open her mouth, there was a loud _bang_ that forced her to whip back around. Her eyes widened as she saw the door blast off its hinges.

She barely had time to react as a massive grizzly bear rushed through the now doorless doorway and run straight for her. The alarm began ringing loudly, echoing throughout the house, but the grizzly bear did not slow his charge. The panic inside of Blank reached its crescendo as she realized she wasn't carrying any of her weapons. She'd have to fight the bear unarmed.

And that wasn't looking like it would be an easy feat. The grizzly bear was wearing a flak jacket much like the one Blank typically wore. He was carrying an assortment of knives and a rather large shotgun was strapped to his back. Any one of those facts would have given the grizzly bear the advantage over the unarmed hyena, but the bear didn't bother drawing any of his weapons.

Blank rolled out of the way, letting the grizzly bear crash into the table. "Blank!" she barely heard Wolfgang's voice over the sound of a lion's roar that sounded from the doorway. The grizzly bear was not alone.

But Blank didn't have time to worry about the lion that came charging into the dining room much like the grizzly bear had, heading for Wolfgang instead of Blank. Blank looked over at Wolfgang instead to see him throw her a firearm. She reached out and managed to catch the weapon out of the air.

She recognized the Desert Eagle as the one Wolfgang liked to carry around with him. It was much too big for her paws, but she didn't have time to complain. She brought the weapon to bear on the grizzly bear, and managed to squeeze off two shots.

Unfortunately, the grizzly put up his arms in front of his face, revealing he was wearing steel gauntlets that deflected the bullets she fired at him. With his face covered by his arms and his chest protected by his flak jacket, she wasn't able to find a kill shot. So she was forced to fire at his legs, hoping to slow him down enough that she might be able to outmaneuver him.

Unfortunately, the grizzly bear was already on the move by the time she had thought up a plan. He covered the distance between them faster than she had expected, before slapping the firearm out of her paws, not allowing her to get another shot off. She managed to put her arms up fast enough to block his fist, aimed right at her face. But the blow still knocked her off her feet, sending her skidding across the hardwood floor.

She tried to hop up to her feet, ready to dodge his next attack, but her leg flared up at the worst of times, sending her to her knees just as he was bearing down on her. She was unable to do anything as he practically tackled her. She let out a loud gasp as all the air left her lungs from the vicious tackle.

She did her best to wrestle with the bear, but she only succeeded in getting pinned against the ground. His weight was quickly becoming unbearable, as she struggled to even take in air. She looked up, praying to see Wolfgang taking aim at the grizzly, but she only saw him struggling with his own assailant.

The two males were in the middle of a boxing match, one that Wolfgang was swiftly losing. Despite being nearly as large as the lion, the white wolf was nowhere near as strong. The lion was tanking Wolfgang's hits like a champ before dealing them back in spades, eventually succeeding in smashing through the white wolf's guard.

With Wolfgang disoriented from being punched in the face, the lion grabbed him and pinned him against the table quite easily. Wolfgang struggled, but made just as little progress as Blank had. From his vantage point on the table, Wolfgang could glance down and lock eyes with Blank, sending her an apologetic look as he did.

The alarm stopped ringing only a moment later, causing Blank's ear to flick. The alarm had rung throughout the entire scuffle as the only way to make it stop ringing was to shut it off. The hyena barely had time to wonder who knew the passcode to shut the alarm off before she heard Wolfgang let out a loud gasp.

"Look at the mess you've gotten into, Wolfy!" Blank managed to turn her head enough to see a female wolf make her way into the dining room. She was wearing a similar outfit as the other two intruders, a flak jacket that protected her chest, steel gauntlets to protect her wrists, and simple camo pants.

The she-wolf padded over to the pinned Wolfgang, a wide smirk on her face as she did. Her pelt was a very light gray, much lighter than the average timber wolf, but it wasn't quite the brilliant white Wolfgang's fur was. It was at that moment Blank realized that this must be Katherine, the sister Wolfgang had mentioned had been taken by Lionheart and put into the Program. _Which means this is another one of Lionheart's teams… how the hell did they find us?_ Blank wondered as she renewed her struggling. Though she only succeeded in having the grizzly press down harder onto her back.

"You should've stayed in your cage, brother dear," the she-wolf's voice was just loud enough for Blank to hear over her own ragged rasping, as she continued to have difficulties drawing in oxygen. "Now we're going to have to punish you."

"K-Katherine-" Wolfgang tried to say, but was cut off as the she-wolf slammed her fist onto the table with a loud _bang_ , interrupting whatever it was he was going to say.

"That's not my name anymore!" she snarled, glaring at the pinned white wolf.

"That'll _always_ be your name, sister dear," Wolfgang growled as he fought the lion holding him down. "No matter how brainwashed you get… you'll always be my big sister."

Katherine glared at him for several second before snapping her fingers together. "Let him go," she growled.

"But-" the lion started to protest, but Katherine just glared at him. The lion let out a sigh, but let go of Wolfgang, before taking a few steps backwards. Wolfgang pushed himself off the table so that he was facing his sister. She was quite a bit shorter than him, but at that moment, it didn't seem to matter.

He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out as she rammed her fist into his gut. He let out a pained groan as he doubled over, but he wasn't given even a second to recover before she brought her knee up, hitting his chin, and causing his teeth to clack together painfully. "I had a feeling you would be an annoyance," she growled as he dropped to his knees. "I may be your sister still… but we aren't family anymore."

He let out a rasp as he tried to struggle onto his feet, but she only grabbed the back of his head, before slamming it against the side of the table. He collapsed onto the ground, completely unconscious. Luckily, however, he was not bleeding from the impact. "You're just an asset and I'm just a soldier," she grumbled, mostly to herself. "I suppose I can't expect you to ever understand that."

Katherine stepped away from her brother and the lion immediately lurched forward, bending down to scoop the white wolf up as he did. "Put a muzzle on him, just in case," the she-wolf suggested, before turning on her heel and making her way towards Blank.

Blank glared at Katherine as the she-wolf gracefully made her way over to the pinned hyena. Blank opened her mouth to snarl at Katherine, but only succeeded in letting out a ragged cough. "Let up on her a little bit, would you? You're suffocating her!" the she-wolf huffed at the bear.

The bear let out a growl as he shifted his weight so it wasn't all bearing down on the hyena's back. Blank immediately sucked in a huge breath of air, her lungs no longer feeling as if they were on fire. "Bitch," the hyena growled the moment she was able to. She couldn't think of anything better to say, so she settled for insulting the she-wolf as best she could.

"Right back at ya," Katherine snickered, before kneeling down to get a good look at the hyena. "Well, look at that… wearing my clothes are you? Hmm… they suit you, actually… you can keep 'em."

"If you're going to kill me… then fucking do it," Blank snarled, glaring right at the she-wolf, who was grinning in return, hostility not evident on her face.

"Kill you?" Katherine cocked her head. "Why would we ever want to kill you?!"

"I figured after all the trouble I've caused and all the mammals I've murdered, I would make the top of your hit list," Blank growled.

"Oh please. The hyenas you killed are of no concern to us, the officers you killed are disposable, and while the SKY agents that were lost were valuable, they're nowhere near as valuable as you," Katherine chuckled. "Lionheart wants you alive and ready to fight."

"If he wants me so fucking bad then he should've come here himself!" Blank snarled as she began struggling once again.

"Who says that I'm not?" a new voice sounded from the entryway to the dining room. Kat moved slightly to her left, letting Blank see a huge lion standing in the entryway.

"Lionheart," Blank hissed as her struggles ceased. She had to admit, arriving here himself was quite ballsy. There was no guarantee that Blank wouldn't have been ready for an ambush… he had just gotten lucky. "How the hell did you find me?"

"You may have deactivated the tracker in the chip in your head, and you may have ripped out the tracker in your phone," Lionheart said as he made his way towards the pinned hyena. He leaned down just like Katherine had done and grabbed one of Blank's arms. "But you managed to pick up another one not too long ago…"

Blank's eyes widened as he pulled a small chip from the fabric inside of her sleeve. It was flashing ever so slightly, but it was never something she would've noticed while it was hidden inside of her sleeve. Her eyes narrowed a moment later as she tried to figure out how she had picked up the tracking device, only to realize that the only mammal she had come into contact with in the last four hours that wasn't Wolfgang was the Bunny Cop. _That little bitch!_ Blank growled internally, realizing that Judy had pretended to give her the upper paw.

"Like Wolf said, you're far, far too valuable for me to just kill," Lionheart continued as he pocketed the tracker. "You're worth more to me alive."

"So what?" Blank hissed, glaring at Lionheart. "My team is dead… I'm all that's left."

"Perhaps… but that's why I plan on giving you a new team," Lionheart chuckled. "Have you noticed anything missing?"

Blank thought for a few seconds before realizing what was missing. "This squad is missing its fourth member," she muttered. All squads are given four members of varying size and skillsets to cover a vast majority of problems and obstacles. It was why Lionheart's teams were so effective and dangerous.

"Exactly… because _you_ are this squad's fourth teammate," Lionheart smirked. "Welcome to DOOM… H."

"DOOM… H?" Blank asked, cocking her head.

"Yes… you are DOOM's new squad leader, and thus you are now H," Lionheart declared, before gesturing for the grizzly bear to let her up. The bear did so slowly, but Blank didn't immediately hop to her feet and attempt to attack anyone.

Rather, the hyena stayed down for a few solid minutes, just thinking. Even when she had been a part of BLACKOUT, she hadn't been squad leader. And, although she liked Blank… H wasn't a bad name. At least she was allowed to have one, unlike Katherine, who had to live her entire life knowing that she had a name, and yet was forced to shun it. Maybe being a part of DOOM could have a few benefits…

Making up her mind, she pushed herself up to her knees, but not to her feet just yet. "Very well… but I have a few conditions first," Blank growled, putting one paw on her boot.

"Oh? What makes you think you have any power here?" Katherine snarled as she took a step forward, only for Lionheart to push her back and remain silent.

Blank slowly stood up, pulling her knife from her boot as she did. Before holding it up to her own neck. "Because if I don't get what I want, I'll slit my fucking throat… and you all can have _nothing_ ," she growled. After Lionheart and Katherine both saying she was valuable, she figured she could get at least something for her own life.

"Fine… what do you want," Lionheart shrugged. He had honestly expected Blank to pull something like this. But he figured if he got this over with now, her demands would be significantly less than later down the road.

"Our first mission is going to be wiping out the hyena mercenary army that's hiding in this city," Blank growled.

"Done," Lionheart nodded, actually quite happy with that demand. He knew the mercenaries were after him and Blank, and having DOOM go and eliminate them was an excellent idea for a first mission. "Anything else?"

"I want to keep my freedom," the hyena said. "As in… I don't want you to reprogram the chip in my head to make me a mindless, brainwashed zombies like the rest of your teams."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Lionheart sighed, shaking his head. "You're too dangerous to be left unhinged… even a thousand miles away from here, it's too dangerous. But I'll let you keep your autonomy for your first mission, since it sounds personal… how's that?" In truth, it was risky to even do that much, but considering that Blank wanted this as badly as he did, he doubted that she would try anything fishy while DOOM was exterminating the hyena mercenaries.

"Fine…" the hyena hissed. "Then I want Wolfgang to be freed… he doesn't deserve to be a prisoner anymore. Especially after what you did to him, and his family."

"I'm afraid I can't do that either," Lionheart shook his head, not in the least bit afraid as he watched her dig the knife just a little bit deeper into her skin, causing a few drops of blood to leak out from the cut. "But… I can tell you where I'm going to put him."

Blank's eyes narrowed as she let out a growl, but he wasn't even flinching from her threat of slitting her own throat. "Where?" she grumbled, lowering her knife. It didn't look like she was going to be able to win this.

"About a hundred meters underneath City Hall. He'll be quite safe there… and he won't have any hope of escaping," Lionheart replied with a shrug. He gestured towards the grizzly bear to take the knife from Blank. "Is that all?"

Blank didn't fight the bear as he wrenched the knife from her paw. "Just tell him when he wakes up that I'm sorry…" she grunted, balling her paws into fists. "That's it…"

"Very well… we'll make sure that he knows," Lionheart nodded, smirking slightly. "With all that taken care of… let's get moving. I see that you've taken a few injuries, so we should get those checked out. Then we can get you armed and ready for your very first mission with DOOM."

XXX

 **Well… that was a rather long section, don't you think? I've written sections longer, for other stories, of course, but for this particular story, this section is pretty long. So long, that I've decided to cut the chapter here. Ah, if I had decided to hold off until New Year's to release the chapter, then I might've added another section to it. But as it is right now, it's fine.**

 **In any case, lots of fun, interesting things happen this chapter… unfortunately it seems like while Wolfy manages to confess his love for Blank, her response is lost in the invasion. But at least she's given a new team and a little bit more time being free. And her mission to destroy the hyena army is still a go, and with DOOM behind her… it should be easy! Right? Happy New Year in advance, and please stay tuned for the next chapter to find out what happens next!**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31 – Eye of the Storm:

Author's Note:

 **I wouldn't exactly say that last chapter ended on a cliffhanger, but it didn't exactly end on the brightest of notes. Wolfgang is going to be sent to what's basically a holding cell while Blank's going to be reprogrammed… or rather re-brainwashed. Most of you are hoping that Wolfy will be able to escape and that Blank will manage to free herself from her fate… a few of you have even hoped that the story will end on a happy note. To all of those concerns, I can only say… you'll have to wait to find out!**

 **Ah, there you are USA Patriot. I'll admit having been a little paranoid about posting the last chapter before I got your review for the one prior to it, but I have to keep moving, otherwise this story will never be finished. In any case, I'll address both of your reviews. First, yeah, sure, Wolfy could have a weapon that fires something larger than a .50 cal… considering he could be shooting at something as big as an elephant, and those things are basically tanks anyways. And yeah, Lionheart is a bit of a bastard in this story. I guess you might even consider him the true villain… though that doesn't mean anyone will end up bringing him to justice. And I know that most guns aren't really 'recent' by any means. But Blank was probably hoping for a little more than a Garand (not to say it's a bad gun… I love Garands), like an M4 or an AA-12. Something with a bit more firepower.**

 **In any case, this chapter went out a day later than I wanted it to. It's very, very cold where I am, and my house doesn't heat up very well. My hands get cold pretty easily, so I like to wear gloves even inside… and it's tough to type while wearing gloves, and even tougher to gather the courage to take them off to type. But, it's supposed to warm up, marginally, next week (and I went out to buy a new space heater the day I posted this chapter), so I'll try and put the next chapter out extra early. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Judy's eyes snapped open at the sound of her alarm going off. Reaching out to where her alarm usually sat, her paw only brushed against leather. Blinking a few times, she realized she was sleeping on the couch. Or, more accurately, she was laying on top of Nick, who was in turn, laying on the couch.

Sitting up on Nick, she spotted her phone laying on the coffee table, its alarm still blaring away. _Why did I set the alarm so early?_ Judy grumbled to herself as she glanced out the window to see it was still dark out. Normally she woke up late enough to where the sun had already risen quite a ways into the sky. But today was different.

And as she slid off Nick, she remembered why. A gray and black striped rabbit sat on one of the stools in the kitchen, staring right at her as she woke up. His staring was only made creepier by the blank look in his eyes. Judy locked eyes with him as she grabbed her phone and shut the alarm off. Nick only grumbled in his sleep and rolled over, not ready to wake up yet.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Judy asked as she made her way over to the kitchen, passing past Jack as she did. She pulled herself up onto the countertop in order to reach the necessary equipment to make a pot of coffee.

"A few hours… I couldn't sleep," Jack admitted, still staring at Judy with that blank look in his eyes.

"Are you sure you should be up and moving around?" Judy asked as she turned on the coffee maker. Spinning around, but remaining on the countertop, she turned to face Jack.

"It doesn't hurt to move," he shook his head. His tone was rather dull, as if the life had been sucked out of him. Whether it was because the idea of losing his leg was dampening his spirits or if it was because he was just trying to lie, Judy couldn't tell.

"Even then, you shouldn't be moving around," she sighed. "Your wound likely hasn't closed up, and the more you move around, the more likely your 'cast' is going to break."

"Then it's a good thing I've only moved from the bed to this stool," Jack shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"Whatever," Judy rolled her eyes. It was going to be impossible to argue with the buck anyways. "In any case, we'll get going to city hall the moment I have a cup of coffee in me."

"Very well… I suppose I can wait just a bit longer," he said, adjusting himself on his seat slightly. It was the only indication Judy got that he might have been uncomfortable on that stool.

Judy sat silently on the countertop, waiting for the pot of coffee to be done. She glanced around the room constantly, in order to prevent her and Jack from making eye contact. The buck sat equally as quietly on his stool, though his eyes were locked onto her form. It was an awkward silence, but Judy didn't want to yell at Jack to stop staring.

 _Maybe I should wake up Nick… he'd liven up the room a bit,_ Judy mumbled internally. But, she realized that the fox would be more than a little grumpy being woken up early, and would probably only end up exacerbating the situation. However, the uncomfortable silence quickly became unbearable, and she figured she had to say _something…_

"So… you didn't complain last night when we called you Jack… do you like the name?" Judy asked, finally meeting his empty stare.

"I suppose it makes no difference what you call me. J, Jack, Rabbit, doesn't matter," the buck shrugged. "But I am curious as to why you gave me a real name… J's all I ever remember being called. Well… that and Rabbit, before I made squad leader."

"Really? You don't remember your real name?" Judy asked, leaning forward slightly. She remembered what little Blank had shared of the Program Lionheart founded, but she also knew Blank was a special circumstance. Maybe Jack had a different experience.

"I never had another name. I was found as an unnamed orphan baby and taken in by Lionheart. I am… or was, one of the many successes of his training program," Jack explained. "When I turned eighteen, I graduated from the Program and was put in charge of a newly formed team, SKY. I was given a letter, J, for that was all that I needed as squad leader."

"So… what's the point of the letter, exactly?" Judy asked. She remembered Blank explaining it to her once before, but Blank wasn't a squad leader.

"It's just something for Lionheart to call you. It serves no real purpose, I suppose. Squad leaders don't have any different skill sets than any other member of the squad," Jack shrugged. "They're just as easily replaceable as any other squad member. I suppose they receive direct orders from Lionheart, but that's basically it."

"Then what's the point of it?" Judy asked, cocking her head in confusion.

"Group cohesion. We're trained to take orders without question from Lionheart. Since Lionheart doesn't go out into the field, then it helps the other members to have someone giving them orders from someone in the middle of combat like them," he said. "Since the squad leaders get mission objectives from Lionheart himself, then the other squad members know that whatever orders the leaders give is for the sake of the mission, and would be exactly what Lionheart would say if he was in combat beside them."

 _He's divulging more than I thought,_ Judy realized. _I wonder how much he'll give?_ "So… how did you end up making squad leader, then?" she asked, leaning back slightly.

"Lionheart picked one of us at random," Jack said. "Like I said, who the leader is ends up being arbitrary, as all of the squad members have the same skills. All that matters is that we do have a leader."

"What about your day to day missions? What sort of things did SKY end up doing?" Judy asked. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see her pot of coffee almost finished.

"SKY was a home team, we never left the city," the buck explained. "SKY was mostly a spy team, but occasionally we'd be given assassination orders. I can't tell you the purpose behind each and every mission… we were only given the assignments."

Judy blinked a few times. She knew, well, she suspected that SKY would be involved in some shady shit. But when Jack blatantly confessed to having been given assassination orders… she almost arrested him on the spot. But, despite her first instinct being to rush into her room to grab her pawcuffs, she managed to keep her trap shut. _Even if_ she managed to get Jack to confess again in a court of law, and manage to nail Lionheart with murder charges, Lionheart probably had a dozen different get out of jail free cards. Not to mention a plethora of squads that could be given new orders…

So she abandoned that thought. Even though she definitely didn't agree with what Lionheart was doing, there was very little chance she could stop it all by herself. "Well… what about the other teams? What do they do?" Judy asked, hoping to just gather as much information as possible. _Maybe I could leak it to the press or something…_ she pondered, though that still didn't sound like a safe or wonderful idea.

"I have no idea. I know that there's a second type of squad, the away squad, that gets sent on missions far away from Zootopia, but I don't know what they do," Jack admitted. "None of the other squads know what any other squad does. Or who makes up the other squads."

"Ah… that's probably smart…" Judy sighed as she stood and grabbed a cup out of one of the cupboards. Her pot of coffee was ready. She poured the hot liquid into a mug and gave it a sip. Letting out a little sigh as warmth spread throughout her body, she asked, "So, what do you think is going to happen to you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean… they're not going to put you back into the field with an injury like yours… are they?" she asked, suddenly a little concerned.

"I doubt it… the only thing more useless than a rabbit is one with only one leg," Jack managed a small smirk, before it was quickly taken over by the same flat expression he had worn for the past few minutes. "But, to tell you the truth, I wouldn't doubt being killed. Though I do hope that he'll consider reassigning me to an instructor in the Program."

"Well… that doesn't sound too bad…" Judy swallowed softly. Being killed just because you lost your leg in combat didn't sound that far off from something Lionheart would actually do.

"No, I suppose not. It would be nice to teach the next, more capable generation," the buck admitted. "But I remember my instructor in the program actually running drills with me… I wouldn't be able to do that with my students, would I?"

Judy didn't answer him, how could she? Instead she began gulping down the scalding brown liquid in her cup, trying to finish as quickly as possible. She set the mug in the sink to clean later before hopping off the counter. She hit the floor gracefully, before gesturing towards Jack. "Come on, let's get moving. I need to be back here in time to make breakfast," she said as she padded towards the door.

Jack didn't mention how he knew that she had purposefully avoided his question. Rather, he gingerly slid off his chair and grabbed the crutch Nick had given him the night before. Then he followed the doe out of the apartment, hobbling as fast as he could to keep up with her.

The drive was thankfully short to city hall. Because of the early hour, there was almost no traffic, allowing Judy to make her way to the mayor's office without many obstacles. She pulled into the parking lot and shut her car off, before hopping out. She was forced to help Jack out of her car, as he was having trouble, but once he was out, the two quickly made it into the building.

Lionheart was sitting at his desk as the doors to his office were opened. Looking up from his work, he spotted a small gray bunny helping a gray and black striped rabbit into his office. "Chief Hopps, J, you made it," he said, immediately standing up.

"Yeah, just barely," Judy muttered, supporting J over her shoulder. He just wasn't fast enough without her help.

Lionheart, seeing Jack injured, snapped his fingers rather loudly. A hidden door opened from the side of his office and two smaller mammals made their way into the office. They took Jack from Judy and helped him into the room hidden by the fake door. Then the fake door shut and Jack was gone.

Judy watched Lionheart sit back down and move a few papers around on his desk. "Is he going to be alright?" she finally spoke up after a few seconds of him just shuffling papers.

"He'll be fine, most likely. I have the top surgeons on standby, and while I don't know the extent of the damage done to his hip and leg, I doubt he'll die if he lasted this long with nothing more than crude bandages," Lionheart shook his head. "Why do you care?"

 _Because I'm worried you'll kill him!_ Judy so desperately wanted to shout out. But once again, she kept her mouth shut. Watching Lionheart not even glance at her as she stood in his office, after having witnessed a _fake door_ open and take Jack to god knows where, made her realize that he didn't even consider her a threat. He didn't consider the possibility that she had information that could damage him, or if he did, he was confident that she wouldn't say anything to anyone. _He really does consider himself untouchable…_

"I'm invested," Judy shrugged, trying to play it cool. "Without me, he'd be dead in a warehouse before anyone else could help him."

"Then I suppose thanks are in order," Lionheart said, still not looking up. "Though I am curious… what is your assessment of the extent of the damages?"

"To my untrained eye, I think there's no chance he'll be keeping that leg, sir," Judy admitted. "But I don't think the damages are so extreme that he won't pull through. He seems fine enough, once the leg is amputated and the wound is healed… he'll be good as new."

"Without a leg, though," Lionheart mused, finally looking up at her. "Thank you, chief Hopps, your insight will be valuable towards how we'll proceed to repair him."

"You're welcome, sir," Judy said, though she couldn't help but cringe at the word 'repair.' He sounded like he was fixing a damned robot. "But if you wouldn't mind me asking… with my assessment, as you put it… what sort of work do you see him doing in the future?"

Lionheart stared at her for a few seconds, tapping the tip of his claw on his desk. "It would be very easy for me to just tell you what you want to hear, Hopps," he said slowly. "I know that you've already asked him and he has given you two different answers. The one that he thinks is true, and the one that he wants you to believe."

"Then give me the truth," Judy growled, crossing her arms. "I don't care if you think you don't want me to hear it… I want it. From your mouth."

"You don't like to play games, I see," Lionheart grinned, crossing his arms as well. "I like you more than Bogo already! You know, Hopps… even if Bogo pulls through, you don't have to give up your spot to him. And if you don't want him back at all…"

"When _chief_ Bogo gets back, I'll be handing his rank right back to him. No ifs, ands, or buts," Judy said immediately, not even wanting to entertain whatever scheme Lionheart was brewing. "Now give me the truth."

"Shame, you're a better officer than Bogo," Lionheart sighed, folding his paws on his desk. "To be completely truthful, I don't know what we'll do with him. I'm going to wait and see how the operation goes, and whether or not there's about to be an opening on a new team I formed last night, thanks to you."

"New team?" Judy asked, cocking her head.

"Ah, yes, thanks to you, DOOM has successfully captured and recruited its new team leader, H," the lion smirked.

"H? Oh… Blank…" the rabbit muttered.

"Right, Blank… that pet name you've given her. Much like the one you've undoubtedly given to J to forge some sort of attachment, I guess?" he asked, still grinning. Judy only glared at him, not responding to his taunts. "In any case, depending on the outcome of DOOM's assignment, J might or might not have a place back on a squad."

"Even with his injury?!" Judy exclaimed.

Lionheart could only shrug. "There are some uses for an undercover operative to have a disability. Less likely to be suspected to be a spy," he explained. "In any case, Hopps… J explained to me on the phone this morning that he had some information for you."

Judy blinked a few times, before her ears jolted upwards on her head, standing tall in excitement. "Yes, he should have some, I hope!" she grinned slightly. At least this wasn't a total waste of time.

"I couldn't care less what it is, but I suppose if he promised it to you, then I should hand it over," he said, picking up a file on his desk. He held it out over the side of his desk where she could easily reach it.

She padded up to the file and took it from him, before immediately opening it and flipping through it. Her eyes widened when she saw the results of the testing, it was exactly as she has suspected. Lionheart arched an eyebrow as Judy padded straight out of his office without saying anything, not even offering her a goodbye. But Judy was too distracted to care, she bolted the moment she stepped out of his office, heading straight for her car. _I have to tell Nick that it was cobra venom!_

XXX

 _MOTHERFUCKER!_

Blank let out a what could best be described as a roar as Kat pressed an actual cautery against the wound in the hyena's hip. The metal was heated to a dull red glow, and the moment it touched flesh, a searing sound filled the air as the bullet hole in Blank's leg was cauterized.

They were in a bright white room several hundred meters underneath city hall. It was Lionheart's secret facility that he had kept hidden for years. And it was huge. Dozens of different complexes and rooms, including a lab, an armory, and the medical bay Kat and Blank were in.

"Oh quit your bitching," Kat grumbled as she set the metal rod back on top of a low-burning fire. "You're the one who asked for her wounds to be cauterized… I thought you knew that it would be painful."

"I was well aware of the pain… doesn't mean it still doesn't hurt," Blank growled. "Do my hip."

"As you wish," Kat snickered as she picked up the cautery and pressed it against Blank's hip, searing the flesh closed once again. The hyena only let out a hiss this time, biting her lip hard enough to make it bleed.

Blank sucked in a deep breath once Kat removed the superheated metal rod from her skin and placed the glowing red tip in a bucket of water. The water hissed as the heat caused the liquid to start to evaporate, steam beginning to rise from the bucket. The hyena forced herself to stand up as the tip of the metal rod began to cool.

Blank took a few steps forward, wincing with each one, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as when the wounds were open. She could fight like this. Kat watched with an amused grin as Blank tested out her leg with a few experimental kicks, before twisting from side to side, testing out her hip.

"They're a little unsightly, but no one's gonna see the burns underneath your uniform anyways," Kat said, pulling the cautery from the bucket, and storing it away as she did.

"Uniform?" Blank asked, turning to face the she-wolf. "Did you go and retrieve the one that I left at the Fritz manor?"

"Oh no… Lionheart really went all out for you. He got you a new one," Kat said as she padded over to a nearby closet. Upon further inspection, however, Blank realized that it wasn't a closet. Instead it was a dresser on wheels that someone had rolled into the medical bay before she arrived. Kat opened the dresser doors to reveal a new uniform.

Blank's eyes widened as she saw a flak jacket, a trench coat, and a pair of camo pants, just like her old uniform. However, they were all brand new. The flak jacket looked a bit bigger and would likely be more comfortable to wear. The trench coat had a new design on the back, another skull she didn't recognize the shape of, except this skull had horns.

"Yup, all of it is brand new, and modernized. The plate in the body armor can stop something as big as a 7.62 rifle round," Kat grinned.

"It's probably a little overkill for today's mission," Blank shook her head. "The hyenas were fighting likely only have pistols, submachineguns, and maybe one or two shotguns. Not a huge threat."

"True, and the vest will give you a bit of protection against shotguns too, though its mainly designed for fighting assault rifles," Kat chuckled. "In any case, Lionheart's also upgraded the armor plating on the trench coat. The plates are a bit thicker, and there's more overlap between the plates to create better coverage. Those bone eater rounds that bit through your old coat won't have any hope of making it through this one."

"Seems like you're really going all out just for me…" Blank muttered as she padded over to the dresser. "You can thank Lionheart for me, I guess."

"Thank him yourself," Lionheart's voice sounded from the doorway to the medical bay. Blank flinched involuntarily upon hearing his voice, before turning to face him. He was leaning against the doorframe with an easy-going smirk on his face.

Upon realizing that he was serious, Blank said, "Thank you, sir," after only a minute of silence between the two of them.

"You're welcome, H," Lionheart said. "How was your stay last night?"

Blank blinked a few times, carefully considering how to phrase her answer. On the one paw, she was given her own room, despite most teams sleeping together in the same room. On the other, she had been locked inside and there were dozens of cameras watching her at every second. "I got at least a little bit of sleep," the hyena eventually decided to say.

"Good, good," Lionheart nodded, either not noticing her hesitance, or not caring. "In any case, I wouldn't get too used to it. DOOM is still an away team… once you're done with this mission and after your reprogramming, then you'll be sent away."

"To where?" Blank asked, looking away from Lionheart and back at her uniform.

"There's been whispers of a cartel gaining significant power down in Bolivia. DOOM is going to sort them out," Lionheart replied, crossing his arms. "But for now, I suggest you concentrate on your current mission."

"Of course, sir," Blank nodded, still not glancing at him.

"Make sure you take her by the armory. Let her take whatever she wants," Lionheart ordered, gesturing towards Kat.

"What about my M60? Did you ever recover it?" Blank asked, finally looking at him again.

"We did, but I think we'll hold it as a gesture of good faith. You can have it back after your reprogramming," the lion replied. "However… we did recover something that you had stolen from us." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe filled with blue liquid. "Look familiar?"

"My… the Hercules serum!" Blank exclaimed, realizing that Lionheart had found where she had left her old flak jacket and rifled through her pockets.

"Oh yes, this little beauty," Lionheart snickered. "It was a shame when it went 'missing,' but somehow I wasn't surprised when it showed up in one of your flak jacket pockets."

"So you brought it here just to gloat?" Blank growled.

"No," the lion shook his head. "I actually brought it to give it back to you. I have a feeling that you have a plan for this mission already in place. And if this is integral… I suppose I should let you have it."

The hyena fumbled as Lionheart tossed her the serum, almost causing her to drop it and break it on the ground. But she managed to recover in time to prevent it from falling out of her paws. Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned around, opened one of the pockets of her flak jacket, and slipped it inside. "Thank you again, sir," she said only a moment later.

"I also found a packet of cigarettes and a lighter that I thought might have been important, but I already put those in the pockets of your plate carrier," Lionheart said while turning on his heel. "I'll let you get changed."

Blank and Kat watched him leave the room, before shutting the door. "Well, it looks like we're in for more fun in the future," Kat grinned as she turned to face Blank. "By the way, since you seemed to like those heels of mine so much, I got you a little something…"

Blank watched as Kat opened one of the bottom drawers of the dresser and pulled out a pair of combat boots, with the heel extended slightly. It was nowhere near as high as the heels that the hyena was currently wearing, but it would be comfortable in a combat situation. "Thank you, Kat," Blank said as she accepted the boots.

Kat's eye twitched but she didn't respond to hearing her name. Instead, she headed towards the door. "I'll just wait outside for you to finish," she muttered, opening and shutting the door behind her.

Blank let out a sigh. She knew in her heart that these were all cheap tactics to try and convince her to stay at least until she was reprogrammed. She briefly wondered if she was particularly loyal and successful during her mission, would Lionheart let her keep her freedom? But she tossed that train of thought aside almost the moment it popped into her head. There was no way Lionheart would let her slip through his fingers again.

Whether he was really that confident that she wouldn't be able to escape, or if he was sure she had fallen for his 'gifts,' she couldn't tell. But she knew one thing for sure. Today was her last chance to get free. So she donned her new tactical uniform, swapping it out for Kat's clothes that she was currently wearing, before slipping on the combat boots.

She had gotten used to walking in Kat's heels the other day, and the fact that the combat boots had a smaller heel made it even easier for the hyena to stride over to the door and make her way out of the medical bay. Once out of the white room, she spotted Kat leaning against a wall. Though Lionheart was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd Lionheart go?" Blank asked as she padded up to Kat.

"Back up to his office, his pager or something went off," Kat rolled her eyes. "In any case, I'll escort you to the armory. The rest of the team is waiting for us there."

XXX

 **Ah, I think we'll cut it there… my fingers are** ** _freezing!_** **I'm cutting it a little close with this chapter, having finished it mere hours before I posted it. But hopefully there aren't too many mistakes. By the way, just a bit of trivia in case anyone is curious. While I implied that the skull on the back of Blank's original trench coat was a human skull, I'm going to straight up tell you that the skull on the back of her new trench coat is a Diablos from Monster Hunter. Look it up if you're curious.**

 **I was planning on showing Blank's loadout and everything, but I've decided that it would be better to show it off while she's using the weapons. We also get the answer that Judy has been seeking for a very long time… it was cobra venom that killed Duke Weaselton. And, if you remember correctly… Reaper is a cobra. I guess Judy has a suspect now. I wonder how that'll go down. And with DOOM assaulting the hyena compound at the same time… next chapter's gonna be interesting! And I promise I'll do my best to put the chapter out** ** _Friday_** **! Stay tuned until next time!**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32 – Crouching Hyena, Hidden Snake:

Author's Note:

 **So… chapter one of this story just became the most reviewed chapter I've ever written! With a total of fourteen reviews, although not particularly impressive, it's double the average review per chapter of this story, so I still consider it an achievement.**

 **Also, I would like to make a quick note that I made a mistake last chapter. When Judy discovers that the venom containing Ohanin was** ** _cobra_** **venom… what she should have said was** ** _king cobra_** **venom. Because technically, despite its name, a king cobra is not a cobra. It is in a species of snake all its own. So, just to be clear, Judy found the Ohanin in** ** _king cobra_** **venom.**

 **Anyways, USA Patriot, hello again! I would just like to note something that I said quite a bit ago: because I'm on winter break, I'm going to focus entirely on this story in an effort to finish it as quickly as possible. It's in preparation for when I post the first chapter of a new story in a few weeks. Though DOF won't be finished in time for that, I will continue to post a chapter of this story every single week. At least. Oh, and for your predicted loadout for Blank, I'd just like to say you went a little light on the weapons. You forgot her favorite, shotguns! Obviously she's going to have one of those… and maybe a few other things. Though I doubt she'd want to lug a** ** _rocket_** ** _launcher_** **around…**

 **Remember all the way back to chapters 17-19? Ah, good times… but my point is that those chapters were all technically three parts to a single chapter that was just… too goddamn long to write. These next three chapters, including this one, are going to be fairly similar… three parts to one whole chapter. I split it up, again, because it's just too long on its own. So here's part one, please, enjoy!**

XXX

Judy blasted Nick's apartment door open, practically blowing it off its hinges as she stormed into the living room, heading straight for the still sleeping fox. "Nick, I got the venom analysis results!" she shouted out, causing Nick to jolt upwards, his fur all puffed up in surprise.

"Judy?" Nick asked, letting out a loud yawn as he turned to face the excited little bunny. His fur was still standing on end, but once he realized who it was, despite the ungodly hour she had woken him at, his heartrate was starting to slow back to normal.

"Yeah, it's me," the rabbit grinned, unable to help the chuckle that escaped her lips as she saw him with his fur all frizzy. "Like I said, I got the venom sample results… and you'll never guess which snake got a positive on having Ohanin in its venom."

"It was the king cobra, wasn't it?" the fox let out another yawn, bearing all his teeth as he did. Once his jaws clacked shut, he noticed the door practically falling off the frame, causing him to snicker softly.

"Oh damn, you guessed," she sighed, pretending to be disappointed. "But now that we have a positive ID, all we need to do is come up with a plan of attack."

"Which is easier said than done," he groaned as he slid off the couch, his sensitive nose picking up the strong scent of coffee, and since it looked like he wasn't going to be going back to sleep any time soon, he would need some. So he sleepily made his way over to the kitchen. "What exactly does the venom analysis prove?"

"As far as I can tell… snake venom is not unique to each individual snake, unlike DNA, and even then, the only protein that we could pull from Duke's blood that didn't belong there was Ohanin," Judy explained, following behind Nick into the kitchen. "Even though we know that king cobras have Ohanin in their venom, it's impossible to connect it back to Dr. Tavi's pet cobra."

"Just to be clear, though… you are attempting to build a case around the idea that Dr. Tavi's pet cobra is escaping to hunt down citizens in Little Rodentia and that it killed Duke for getting too close," Nick asked, grabbing a mug from a cabinet and filling it with coffee.

"Well… I know I wasn't the only one to feel something… off about that snake. But, like I said, just a second ago, that would be impossible to prove. Plus there's still a chance that the kidnapper in Little Rodentia is someone else," Judy shrugged. "Or there's the possibility that Dr. Tavi is using his pet cobra to kill citizens of Zootopia indiscriminately."

"But it makes sense, doesn't it? The kidnapper being a snake, I mean," Nick asked as he turned around, leaning against the counter as he sipped his coffee. "To be able to enter and exit Little Rodentia without being seen… I'd say that the kidnapper and the snake are the same animal."

"Fine, let's work off the assumption that they are, then," Judy nodded, understanding the fox's logic. "But there's still the problem of connecting the dots. Do you know if Zootopia has a history of snake problems?"

"Not that I know of. Besides Dr. Tavi's snake shop, I've never seen another snake in my life," Nick admitted.

"Really? Dr. Tavi is the only one?" Judy asked, an idea popping into her mind.

"I know everyone, Fluff, and Dr. Tavi is the only one crazy enough to deal with snakes," Nick chuckled.

"But the snakes he gets aren't ones he's caught in Zootopia?"

"Uh… no. No, usually he has to travel around the country to find and capture certain species…"

"Nick, if he's the only one crazy enough to mess with snakes, and if Zootopia doesn't have a history of snake problems, then that means any snake that's on the loose right now, even if not being directly used by Dr. Tavi as an assassin, he still has some connection to it," Judy concluded.

Nick's ear flicked as a lightbulb seemed to go off in his brain. "You know, Judy… Dr. Tavi once told me a story of how he traveled to India in search of a king cobra, one of the deadliest species of snake. He claimed he searched and searched and searched, but never found one that he could capture," the fox said slowly, trying to remember the boring story. "King cobras aren't native around here, you see. But if he never found one on his trip…"

"Then where did Reaper come from?" Judy finished Nick's thought, her expression darkening.

"I think we're about to find out," Nick growled as he downed the rest of his coffee. He and Judy both headed towards their room, where they changed at the same time, oddly enough, they were too focused on the task at hand to worry about gawking at each other's nudity. Once they finished gearing up, they turned towards the door.

"I don't know what's going on here, Nick, but this is too many coincidences for my tastes," Judy said as she padded out of the apartment, letting Nick shut the door behind him. The door squealed on its hinges, signaling that they had been damaged when the bunny threw the door open.

"True… at the very least, Dr. Tavi has released something dangerous into Zootopia. At worst…" the fox trailed off. "He could be a murderer."

"Exactly why we're going to arrest him," Judy said as she headed towards the elevator, Nick right on her tail. "We can nail him for obstruction of justice for his initial charge, then after questioning, we should be able to tack on release of a dangerous animal, harboring a fugitive, or even straight up manslaughter."

"What about the snake?" Nick asked as the duo rode the elevator down to the ground floor.

"Even if Reaper is innocent in all of this, he's still a dangerous mammal that should never have been brought into Zootopia. Even if it is legal to bring a snake that venomous into our city, which I'm sure it isn't, then the best thing to do is to put it down," Judy said, quite coldly as they padded out to their waiting squad car.

"Then you cuff Tavi, and I'll put Reaper down," Nick suggested as he climbed into the driver's seat, flicking on the siren as he did. Judy was right behind him, pulling herself up onto the passenger's seat, buckling herself in just as Nick slammed on the gas. "Just make sure you keep an eye on me… remember all those weird things that happened the last time we were in there."

"Don't worry, Nick, I'll watch your back," Judy nodded as she leaned back in her seat, mentally preparing for what was going to need to be done.

The drive to The Pit was quiet as both mammals mentally prepared for what was about to go down. They were unsure of how Tavi was going to react nor whether or not Reaper would be easy to eliminate. The plan was simple enough, but there were only two of them. _Maybe we should've brought backup,_ Judy mumbled internally as Nick parked in the parking lot of the snake shop.

The two mammals hopped out of their cruiser, leaving their sirens on, though remembering to lock the vehicle. Judy didn't quite trust the area of the city they were in. Both of them made their way towards the shop, firearms already drawn. They could see the sign flashing 'open' in the window, meaning they at least wouldn't have to breach the door.

Judy pushed the door open and let Nick go in first, relying on his night vision to see in the extremely dark room. To Nick's surprise, the room seemed somehow even darker than the last time he had been in the room. But despite the fact that he was nearly as blind as Judy was, he headed straight towards the back of the room, where the door to the basement was.

Once Nick reached the door, and the door knob, he opened the door before Judy could bump into him, letting light flood the dark room. He immediately shut his eyes and fumbled with his shades that were hanging out of his shirt pocket. He slipped them on, allowing his eyes more time to adjust to the light.

Judy didn't wait for Nick to put his shades on, as she spotted Dr. Tavi staring at the massive glass cage in the back of the basement, his back to them. "Dr. Tavi!" Judy called out, flicking the safety off her firearm as she closed the distance between her and the mongoose.

Dr. Tavi's ear flicked, but he didn't turn around. "What can I do for you today, officer Hopps?" he asked, clearly recognizing Judy's voice. Whether or not he had heard the click of Judy's safety going off, or Nick's as the fox fell in behind his partner, was impossible to tell.

"You can get on your knees," Judy commanded, padding right up behind him. "You're under arrest." She held her gun up to the back of his head, waiting for him to comply to her demands. Nick made his way around his partner and padded up the glass cage, searching the dark corners for any sign of movement, his gun at the ready as well.

"May I ask why?" Dr. Tavi asked as he put his paws up. But he didn't get on his knees. Rather, he very slowly turned around to face Judy, the tiniest of smirks on his face.

"At the moment, attempted obstruction of justice," Judy growled, not noticing the tiny smirk on the mongoose's face. "But we have reason to believe your charges may be as serious as manslaughter."

"Oh dear, manslaughter? How terrible," Dr. Tavi chuckled. "Who exactly did I…slaughter?"

"Don't play dumb," Judy hissed, reaching out with one paw, and putting it on his shoulder. She forced him to his knees while keeping her weapon pointed at him the entire time. "Duke Weaselton. I don't know why you killed him, but at least we know how."

"Do you now?" Dr. Tavi asked, narrowing his eyes. "Maybe I was a little _too_ cooperative then… I guess I figured you'd be too distracted with everything that was happening around you that you wouldn't have time to actually take a look at those samples. Hmm… maybe I should've contaminated them…"

"So you admit to attempted obstruction of justice?" Judy growled, grabbing a pair of pawcuffs off her belt.

"Well… not like it matters now, of course. I had just hoped I'd have a little bit more time…" Tavi sighed, not moving as she cuffed one of his paws, keeping her weapon aimed at his head. "But I suppose this will do…"

"What do you mean by that?" Judy asked, narrowing her eyes, hesitating for just a moment in finishing pawcuffing him. The mongoose only let out a soft chuckle, not answering the rabbit.

"Where's the snake, Tavi?" Nick asked, turning away from the glass to face the half-arrested Dr. Tavi. He had been unable to find the snake in the glass cage, and he was starting to suspect it wasn't in there…

The smirk on Tavi's face grew three times larger as he looked up at Nick, purple eyes blazing in amusement. "Behind you," he said simply.

Nick and Judy's reactions were far too slow as a loud hiss was heard from behind the fox. Nick was unable to even move as the giant king cobra lashed out at him, latching onto his neck with a vicious bite. The fox let out a scream as he dropped his gun and struggled in the snake's grasp, fighting to get free before he was injected with any venom. But it was far too late.

"Nick!" Judy cried out, turning to bring her gun to bear on the massive snake, as the urge to protect her boyfriend outweighed her fear of shooting anyone. But Dr. Tavi lashed out, smacking the gun out of Judy's paws, sending it skidding across the floor, causing it to go off once it hit the floor.

Judy didn't waste any time as she swung around, gathering as much momentum behind her fist as she could, before she punched Tavi in the face as hard as she possibly could. The mongoose stumbled backwards, but the rabbit didn't let up. She followed up her initial strike with a vicious combo, smashing her fist into his face multiple times, before finishing with a brutal kick to his chest, causing him to go flying backwards. He slammed into one of the legs of the king cobra's massive glass cage, causing the entire thing to rattle.

Seizing her chance, Judy turned towards her firearm, only to meet the reptilian face of the Grim Reaper. The king cobra had dropped Nick as Judy was finishing off Tavi, and moved to intercept Judy from retrieving her weapon. The moment his eyes locked onto hers, she felt her fear of snakes return full force, causing her to collapse onto her knees, absolutely paralyzed with fear.

 _"_ _Ah, that's better,"_ Reaper sighed as he glanced away from Judy and over at the stunned Dr. Tavi. _"Get up you idiot. And uncuff yourself while you're at it, you look like a fool."_

"Wow, idiot and a fool… I finally feel special," Dr. Tavi groaned as he managed to right himself. He stumbled slightly, but shook his head to clear it. "She really packs a wallop in those tiny fists of hers…"

 _"_ _Yes… I know,"_ Reaper hissed softly as he leaned closer to the paralyzed Judy. His tongue flicked out and smacked her nose as he scented the air, but she didn't, or rather, couldn't react. _"You owe me, you know… for saving your skin."_

"Hey, I've saved your skin plenty of times, surely we're even," the mongoose grinned as he began rifling around the pouches on Judy's belt until he eventually found the key for the pawcuffs she had slapped onto one of his wrists.

 _"_ _Saving my shedded skins do not count,"_ Reaper let out a hissing growl, turning to glare at Dr. Tavi.

"Whatever you say, my friend," Tavi chuckled as he fitted the key into the lock and uncuffed himself. He let the pawcuffs and the key fall to the ground, not bothering to put them back where they belonged on her belt. "What are we going to do with them, then?"

 _"_ _The pesky fox will die soon enough… the rabbit, however, we are not killing,"_ the king cobra explained, still staring at Judy with his bottomless green eyes.

"What? I'd much rather save Nick than this… bitch! She hit me!" Tavi complained, sending a quick glance over to Nick, who was lying on the ground, blood pouring from the large puncture holes in his neck.

 _"_ _Silence! I do not care what you think… I am keeping this little pet for myself,"_ Reaper practically snarled as he finally broke eye contact with Judy and turned towards the mongoose.

 **Move.**

"Why? Shouldn't you want to eat her?" Tavi asked, rolling his eyes. "After all, you've developed a certain… taste for rodents, haven't you?"

 _"_ _Rabbits are not rodents,"_ Reaper seemed to roll his eyes. _"Besides… rodents are delicious. They're not worth wasting venom on… and I love the way they struggle."_

 **Move…**

"I don't see why you can't just be a normal king cobra and eat other snakes," Tavi sighed as he took a step back. "I have plenty of that here… and if you hadn't been sneaking out to snack on the Little Rodentia population, maybe we wouldn't have attracted the police's attention… and we could have proceeded without interference."

 _"_ _Silence! As I have told you before, cannibalism is unbecoming of a sentient species. When the rest of my kind finish their evolution then they will understand just as I do,"_ Reaper let out a growling hiss again. _"Judy is not here to be eaten, she is here to be my pet. And potentially, my queen."_

 **Come on… move!**

"Fine, be that way," the mongoose huffed, crossing his arms. "But she's important to the ZPD, and they're going to come looking for her. We'll have to accelerate our plans."

 _"_ _There is no need. Soon enough Zootopia will be brought to its knees,"_ the king cobra let out a hissing chuckle as he began slinking over to Judy once again. Slowly, tauntingly so, he began wrapping around her with his coils. He was surprisingly gentle, but it didn't stop the tears that began leaking from the rabbit's eyes as her fear continued to overwhelm her. She let out a soundless sob as Reaper's tongue flicked out again, brushing against her ears, which were hanging down on her back. _"Dispose of the fox and then send out the order to move to phase two."_

 ** _Move!_**

The moment Judy heard 'dispose of the fox,' she snapped. Much like how her fear of losing Nick had forced her to abandon her fear of killing, once again her fear of losing Nick outweighed her fear of snakes. Reaper's coils were wound around her body, but they were so loose that she was able to reach onto her belt and grab her taser.

Just as Dr. Tavi let out a sigh and a nod of agreement, Judy struck, pushing her taser against Reaper's scales and pulling the trigger. Electricity attempted to jump between the two diodes, but only ended up surging into the king cobra's body, causing the massive snake to let out a scream of pain. Reaper's muscles began spasming out of his control, his coil loosened, before tightening almost immediately afterwards.

But it was too late, Judy slipped free. Dr. Tavi, who had been stunned by Reaper's scream, recovered just in time to slide in front of Judy, blocking her path to Nick. He reached out with one of his paws, but Judy was ready for him. Pulling a move from Blank's book, she grabbed his arm before he had time to grab her.

Judy spun, taking Tavi's arm with her, until she was behind him, forcefully holding his arm behind his back. Before he could spin and try and right himself, she pushed him onto the ground and, with all her weight, leaned forward onto his arm, causing his elbow to bend the wrong way. The sound of sinew snapping echoed in Judy's ears as she broke the mongoose's arm, before rolling away from him, leaving him to scream in pain.

With adrenaline pumping through her body, she summoned all her strength and picked Nick up in her arms bridal style. He was too big for her to carry on her back, and although she would have trouble seeing, she would at least be able to move quickly while carrying him like this.

She bolted for the door with Nick in her arms, just as Reaper was starting to recover from the electricity that had been coursing through his body. He glared at Judy, as she was too far away for him to be able to stop her. Besides, he had a bigger issue to deal with.

Luckily, Nick had forgotten to shut the door to the pitch black main room of the store, so Judy hopped up the small flight of stairs and bolted straight for the exit, using the light from the basement to guide her. She raced out of the store and headed straight for their cruiser. She wasn't sure how long Nick had left… but she _had_ to get him to a hospital!

Reaper slithered over to Dr. Tavi, a frown almost playing on his lips. _"Stop your crying, fool,"_ he hissed angrily. He wasn't so much upset that he had been hurt, rather than Judy had escaped. Which would provide a whole host of problems down the line.

"Easy for you to say!" Tavi snarled as he held his broken arm gingerly in his other paw. "She only shocked you… she broke my arm!"

 _"_ _Yes, I noticed… we have a new problem, Tavi… after you send the phase two order out, tell our mercenaries to regroup back here,"_ Reaper hissed in frustration, Tavi's moaning and groaning starting to grate on his hearing. _"I have a feeling Judy will be back… with reinforcements."_

XXX

A black van raced throughout the streets of Zootopia. With so many cops injured or dead, there were very few out on the streets, so the black van was able to drive twenty over the posted speed limit. The windows were tinted so much that it was impossible to tell who was inside the van or how many there were. Despite having no sirens, the van was able to dodge traffic and run red lights without ever having to slow down.

The van eventually skidded to a stop a few buildings away from its destination. They were on the edge of Happytown, if they had gone one more street over, they'd be in the ghetto. The backdoor of the van threw open and a giant grizzly bear hopped out, his head darting side to side as he checked for danger.

Shouldering chaingun he was holding, he turned back into the van and shouted, "Clear!" as loudly as he dared. A muscular tiger jumped out of the van next, pulling what looked to be a double-barreled pump shotgun off his back as he too checked the area. Lastly, a female wolf hopped out of the back of the van, not pulling any weapons from her back or belt as she trusted the grizzly bear's initial assessment.

"H, we're clear, what's next?" Kat asked as she watched their team leader step out of the driver's seat of the van. The hyena was armed quite literally to the teeth, but most notably was the M4 Carbine that was slung around her back, along with some type of automatic shotgun.

"Our target is that 'abandoned' hotel over there," H said, pointing towards the building in question. Judging by its boarded-up windows and empty parking lot, the building certainly looked abandoned. But looks could be deceiving. "From this angle, they shouldn't have seen us approach, and as long as we're careful, they won't be prepared for our attack."

"What's our plan, then?" the tiger asked, slinging his weapon around his back again.

"You're going to secure our perimeter," H replied as she reached into the back of the van and pulled out a stack of heavy traffic cones. She pointed in the direction that they had come from and said, "Only block off that side of the road. No one should be coming from the other side."

"Yes ma'am," the tiger replied as he picked up the stack of cones and padded away.

"Try and close off the sidewalk too, if you have spares!" the hyena called out, loud enough that the tiger could hear, but no louder. "Infiltrating the building is going to be a bit more difficult. There should be access to the sewers around here somewhere…"

"There's a manhole cover over here," Kat said, gesturing towards the sidewalk. "We're going in through the sewer?"

"That's the idea. I have a map and I'll be able to lead you and I through the sewer until we reach the access point in the hotel. We should be able to silently slip out of the sewer and surprise them," H explained. "Unfortunately I'm not sure grizzly over here can fit down there."

"No, I very much doubt it," the grizzly bear shook his head. He was quite large, even for a bear, plus he was wearing heavy combat armor, making him seem even larger.

"That's why only Kat and I will be heading down into the sewers. Once we infiltrate the hotel, I'll draw fire from the mercenaries while Kat blows the door open," H said, gesturing towards the grenades hanging off Kat's belt. "Then you and the tiger will come to back me up. Any questions?"

"No ma'am," the grizzly shook his head.

"I really wish you'd stop calling me that," Kat grumbled.

"Not a question," H said, smirking slightly, before reaching back into the van and pulling out a crowbar. She knew that Kat wasn't supposed to have a name, as most of the operatives in Lionheart's program were taken before they ever got such a thing, but Kat was different. And H couldn't stop thinking about what Wolfgang had told her about his sister.

The hyena padded over to the manhole cover and jammed the crowbar underneath it, carefully prying it from the ground. She moved it to the side before jumping down the hole. Kat swiftly followed, sliding down the ladder leading into the sewer instead of just jumping.

There was a loud splash as H landed, before she pulled a map out of one of her flak jacket pockets. Kat landed behind her and pulled out a flashlight, clicking it on. "Trade me," H commanded, giving Kat the map and gesturing for the she-wolf to hand over the flashlight.

"Whatever you say, ma'am," Kat rolled her eyes, swapping her flashlight for the map. She squinted as she tried to make out H's markings on the map. The hyena pointed the flashlight directly at the map so the she-wolf could see it better. Although there was some light streaming through the manhole the two females had jumped down, the sewers were too dark for Kat's night vision to be of much help.

Once she could properly read the map, Kat led the way towards the hotel's sewer access. H followed behind the she-wolf, holding the flashlight so Kat could not only see the map, but also see in front of her. The hyena's night vision was quite a bit better, she wouldn't need a flashlight if she was leading, but…

H waited until they had turned a corner, the light from the open manhole no longer reaching them before raising the flashlight over her head. "H, I need the light," Kat said, turning around to glare at the hyena. Only to be met with H bringing the flashlight down, smashing it across the she-wolf's face.

Kat's head whipped to the side from the force of the blow, causing her to stumble backwards. H didn't relent, bringing the flashlight back around, hitting the she-wolf across the face again. Kat's back hit a wall behind her, before she slowly slumped to the floor, her eyelids closing as she was knocked unconscious.

"Well that went better than expected," H grunted as she knelt down, setting the flashlight to the side so that the light pointed straight at Kat. The hyena pulled her knife from her belt and took the she-wolf's head in her paws. She carefully ran her thumbs over the back of Kat's skull, searching for a bump that would give away the location of her chip.

Once she found the bump, the hyena carefully brought her knife around and made a small cut on the back of Kat's head, revealing her chip. H carefully put the tip of her knife under the chip and pried it from Kat's skull, before flicking the worthless chip away. "There we go," the hyena muttered as she sheathed her knife.

Kat let out a groan as she started to come to a moment later. H waited patiently as the she-wolf's eyes open, only to widen the moment she spotted the hyena. "W-what? Uh… w-who are y-you?!" the she-wolf cried out as she sat up straight, pressing herself up against the wall she was leaning against as hard as she could, as if she was trying to get away from the hyena. "W-where am I?!"

"You're in a sewer, Kat," H replied calmly. "Who I am isn't important."

"K-Kat?! Uh… no! _No!_ I'm not K-Kat… um… I'm Katherine!" the wolf exclaimed, eyes still wide. Tears began leaking out of her eyes as her paw shot up to the back of her head where H had made the incision, before bringing her paw back around to see her fingers dripping with blood. "I'm b-bleeding!"

 _Katherine?_ H wondered to herself, raising an eyebrow. She watched as the she-wolf wept softly to herself, tears streaming down her face as she continued to blubber. _Oh yes, that's right… Dissociative Identity Disorder,_ H remembered what Wolfgang had told her about his sister.

Katherine sobbed as she pulled her knees up to her chest, rocking back and forth as she continued to mumble to herself. H rolled her eyes as Katherine asked question after question, none of which she planned on answering. The hyena let out a sigh, rubbing her temples as the she-wolf's whining quickly became annoying.

"Alright, that's enough!" H finally snarled, slamming her paw against the wall Katherine was leaning against, causing a slapping sound to echo throughout the sewer. "I need to talk to the other one… where's Kat?"

The she-wolf's wining stopped immediately as she finally looked up, glaring at the hyena with all her hatred. " _You_ ," Katherine snarled as she let go of her knees, uncurling from her rocking position. "What did you do?!"

"I took the chip out of your head," H replied, narrowing her eyes. Katherine had changed moods almost immediately. "I freed you."

" _Freed me?_ You freed her!" the she-wolf snarled, gesturing towards her head with one of her blood-soaked fingers. "I'm not in complete control anymore!"

" _Lionheart_ was in control, not you," H growled, realizing that the she-wolf had swapped personalities. She would have to watch out when the wolf swapped back. "I'd think fighting over your body with… yourself is better than some bastard lion being in charge."

Kat's eye twitched as she considered what the hyena had said. "I suppose you have a point…" she trailed off. "Why did you take the chip out, though?"

"I need your help," H smirked, carefully putting a paw on Kat's shoulder. "I needed you free for you to be of any help."

"Help doing what?" Kat's eyes narrowed as she glared at the hyena. She didn't have a good feeling about what H wanted…

"You're going to help me kill those two idiots waiting outside," H growled, her paw inching closer to Kat's neck. "And you don't have a choice."

"What happens after they're dead?" Kat asked. She wasn't particularly worried about H's threat, but she also remembered those two males… those two bastards. Despite the chip in her head being removed, she still had all her memories from her time in the Program. And she definitely wouldn't mind killing those two jackasses.

"I'm going to storm that hotel and slaughter those hyenas," the hyena replied. "You can do whatever you want, as long as you stay as far away from me as possible."

"So… I could run back to Lionheart, get a new chip, and tell him exactly what you did?" Kat asked, smirking slightly.

"Whatever. He won't be able to interfere in my mission," H rolled her eyes. She honestly didn't care what Kat did, so long as the mercenary army was wiped out.

"Well… it's a deal then," Kat said, holding out her paw. H accepted the she-wolf's paw, before pulling Kat to her feet. "Just as long as you don't stab me in the back…"

"There should be no need, as long as you stay out of my way," the hyena shrugged. "I'll send one of them down here for you to take care of and I'll take care of the other one. Don't use any firearms, there's a lot of methane down here."

"Aye-aye captain," Kat snickered as she watched the hyena head back towards the manhole. The she-wolf pulled her knife from her belt and twirled it between her fingers. She had been joking about going back to Lionheart, as she _definitely_ didn't want to go back to that lion. Even though she knew her… other self could spring up at any moment, it was better than having to deal with Lionheart.

H made her way up the ladder, pulling herself back to the surface before sucking in a breath of fresh air. "Stuffy down there," she grumbled mostly to herself, before standing up straight and brushing her flak jacket free of imaginary dirt.

"What's happening down there?" the grizzly bear asked, narrowing his eyes.

"It's a bit more difficult to get into the hotel than I thought. They have the access point locked off with a big door, and neither Kat nor I are strong enough to break it down," H replied, folding her paws behind her back. "So we're switching up the teams. Tiger, you and Kat breach the hotel, then blow the door open so grizzly and I can assist you."

"Of course, H," the tiger nodded, before jumping down the manhole. Another loud splash could be heard from the surface as the tiger landed.

"Well… hopefully he'll have better luck then you did," the grizzly grumbled as he turned around to face the hotel. The hyena, on the other paw, didn't waste any time as she pulled her knife from its sheath and jumped onto the grizzly bear's back.

The bear immediately began to struggle, taken completely by surprise. H rammed her knife into his neck, causing the bear to let out a gurgled scream, his paws flailing as he attempted to swipe the hyena off his back. But H twisted the knife roughly while wrapping her legs around his waist, holding strong throughout his struggling.

Eventually the grizzly bear dropped to his knees, his screaming cut off as the hyena wrenched the knife from his neck, blood splattering all over the ground. H put her feet on the ground and pushed forward, causing the bear to hit the ground face first. Red liquid poured out of his wound, staining the blacktop scarlet.

H panted as she sheathed her knife again, glaring at the grizzly bear as he drew his last breath. "That was easier than I thought it would be," Kat's voice came from the manhole as she carefully pulled herself out of the hole and onto the surface.

The hyena turned to face the she-wolf, a small smirk on her face. "I would've thought they would've been expecting me to attempt to ambush them," she chuckled. "I guess Lionheart's overconfidence trickled down to them too."

"Yeah, probably," Kat chuckled, not at all disturbed that she had killed someone while not under Lionheart's control. "In any case…"

"You should go," H nodded, giving Kat a dismissive wave of her paw. "I still have a hotel to storm."

"Are you sure you don't want my help?" Kat asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't you be worried about the other you coming out and getting you killed?" H raised an eyebrow. "And plus, I don't need your help."

"Ah… you make a good point," Kat sighed. "I'll just be going, then…"

"Hold on… give me your grenades. I might need them," H said, holding out her paw. With her 'team' no longer breathing down her neck, she could do this mission the way she wanted to. She was starting to feel more like herself again.

"Yeah, sure," Kat shrugged, pulling the three grenades off her belt and handing them over to the hyena. H took the grenades and set them in the back of the van. "I'll see you around, H," the she-wolf snickered as she padded away.

"Hey!" the hyena said, causing the she-wolf to pause. "My name is Blank. And don't you fucking forget it."

XXX

 **And there's part one of this three-part chapter! Lots of fun things this chapter, like I promised.** ** _And_** **I even managed to get it out just as early as I had wanted it to! I'll be able to get out one more chapter before I have to go back to school, but it's fine. I'll continue to post once a week, just like I promised.**

 **As for what happened in this chapter, I would just like to note one important thing. I had heard a lot of questions on how the two plots (Blank's and Judy's) are connected… hopefully this chapter helps provide a few early clues on what's really going on here. Soon enough we'll get the full story! Stay tuned to find out more!**


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33 – No One Can Destroy the Metal:

Author's Note:

 **Man, so many great reviews last chapter! So many people making so many different deductions. And at least a few of you understand, at least a little bit, what's going on now! A few of you, though, are so far off the mark that your confidence is hilarious. But, in any case, everyone seems to have very interesting ideas, a few of which are correct.**

 **USA Patriot, I'm glad you won't doubt me again! Though, to be fair, I spent hours and hours Friday morning trying to finish the chapter as quickly as possible so I could fulfill my promise. And for your rocket launcher comment, I know that a launcher was lighter than her M60, but she'd only be able to carry three or four backup rockets, and with the close-quarters she was fighting in, it was complete overkill. And yeah, she** ** _does_** **happen to have a grenade launcher underneath her M4, but you'll see more of that later.**

 **The point of rushing into The Pit without backup is that Judy was a little overconfident, and she was pretty excited to finally have the information she needed to put Tavi away, and put Reaper down… she may have jumped the gun (and that was the point). But yes, I agree she should've called backup. As for your Kat/Katherine comment, they'll be showing up again soon enough. Don't forget about them. As for Nick… I'm a little disappointed that you aren't worried I'll kill him. I usually pride myself for being unpredictable, and having all my characters be available to kill… Nick, Judy, Blank, all of them. The fact that you're not worried about Nick worries me. Anyways… lastly, I'm glad you liked the ending to the last chapter. I knew I wanted to end that chapter that way from the moment I sat down to write it… that's why I called Blank H throughout her entire section, so that line would have a bit more impact.**

 **USA Patriot, I almost missed your second review, and let me assure you, when Reaper said 'queen,' first, it was a dream, he never actually said that, second, even if he did say it and meant it, it is** ** _not_** **a sexual thing! Basically, he just wants to keep her by his side as he rules over the ashes of Zootopia… basically, a queen without the sex.**

 **Unfortunately, I have a bit of bad news. This is the last chapter I'm going to be able to get out before I have to go back to school. Again, I'm going to try and do my best to continue getting chapters out for this story at least once a week, but you never know what's going to happen. In any case, this is part two of our three-part chapter… please, enjoy!**

XXX

Judy stood on top of the podium in the Bullpen, watching the officers file into the room. Her paw was clenching and unclenching into a fist every few seconds, a million thoughts running through her head all at once. She had almost not made it. She had almost let Nick die.

With all the adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins, the last half hour seemed like a complete blur to her. Almost as if it had been a dream. But, every time she glanced over at her and Nick's seat to not see the fox there, giving her an encouraging smile, she remembered that what had happened had been no dream. A nightmare, perhaps… but very, very real.

It had been luck… or perhaps divine intervention that she had made it to the hospital mere seconds before her foxy partner died in her arms. By some miracle, the hospital staff had a venom antidote on paw… Dr. Tavi had mentioned selling the venom to hospitals. It _almost_ brought a chuckle from her throat that it was the mongoose's fault for Nick surviving. But Nick had still lost a lot of blood.

King cobra fangs are apparently quite short, but rather thick around the base. Although Reaper had missed anything vital, the two huge holes in Nick's neck could have killed him just as easily as the snake's venom. But the doctors had patched Nick up as quickly as they could, preventing the fox from losing anymore of his precious lifeblood.

Judy let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes as she tried to clear her head. The adrenaline had long since cleared out from her bloodstream, and she felt exhausted. But she had to keep pushing herself, as her job was not over yet. Nick was going to be fine, though he would need a few days to recover… but Dr. Tavi and Reaper were still at large.

Judy was confident, however, that Dr. Tavi and Reaper would be unable to run. While it was not technically illegal to own an animal as deadly as a snake, it was illegal to have it out in public. If either of those two attempted to run in broad daylight, they would likely be spotted, and she would have an easier time arresting Tavi and executing Reaper. So they would do what any normal snake would do, dig in, stand their ground, and flash their fangs as they waited for the threat to pass, before slipping away the moment they could.

This time Judy knew what to expect from descending into the pit of snakes. This time Judy wouldn't go in alone with only her partner. This time she would have backup. Slowly sucking in a breath, before letting it out equally as slowly, she opened her eyes to see an entire room full of police officers staring at her, waiting to see what she had called them all to the Bullpen for.

"Alright, listen up," Judy growled, adopting Bogo's gruff demeanor once again in order to ensure that she had the officers' full attention. "About an hour ago, officer Wilde and I received critical information towards the missing mammals case in Little Rodentia. Using this information, Wilde and I were able to solve the case, however, when we went to make our arrest, we were taken by surprise and attacked. Wilde was critically injured, and I barely managed to escape with both of our lives intact."

Judy couldn't help the shiver that raced down her spine as she remembered how close she had been to truly becoming that snake's pet. But, she let the murmurings of the crowd wash over her as the officers learned of this development, calming her down once again. "Wilde is in the hospital recovering, and the perpetrator's crime has so far gone unpunished," the rabbit spoke up, her voice silencing the crowd once again. "In light of new evidence, we are no longer dealing with a mere kidnapping. This is a full-blown serial killer on our paws, which means a full tactical assault on his hideout is required."

The officers' ears pricked up as the gathered mammals exchanged confused and excited glances, once again, murmurs began to fill the room as the officers whispered amongst themselves. A full tactical assault had never been done before, it was why the ZPD didn't have a SWAT team. The closest they had ever come to a full tactical assault was a drug bust… but now that the weapons ban had been lifted, a full-scale assault was suddenly feasible.

"You all have ten minutes to gear up. That means armored vests, protective padding, helmets, gloves, combat boots, and of course, weapons. Everyone who is licensed to carry must bring their firearm… anyone who currently is not licensed must pack something different. Tasers, batons, pepper spray, anything you can get your paws on," Judy ordered. "Our target is a mongoose by the name of Dr. Tavi, he owns a snake shop called The Pit near the edge of town. While he might not sound dangerous, he _is_ surrounded by hundreds of dangerous snakes, including a particularly large king cobra that nearly killed Nick. Kill the snakes, but Dr. Tavi should be taken alive."

The rabbit had briefly considered informing the gathered officers about Reaper's… powers. She wasn't sure what else to call it, or how to explain it to the officers, so she left them out. She didn't know enough about that snake, and she wasn't sure how his… whatever it was, worked. She just hoped he wouldn't be able to effect so many mammals all at once. Numbers would hopefully give them the advantage. "Now, let's get moving!" Judy called out as she hopped off the podium.

"Belay that order, Hopps," a new voice filled the room, cutting the sound of screeching chairs as the officers stood up short. It was deep, and gruff, and Judy recognized the clearly irritated tone without even having to look at the doorway.

"Chief Bogo?!" the rabbit cried out as she saw the massive cape buffalo blocking the doorway, with his arms crossed. A frown was entrenched deep on his face as his mere presence caused the other officers to sit back down in their chairs. "What are you doing here? I thought you still weren't cleared to leave the hospital."

"Lionheart called me, and forced the hospital to discharge me," Bogo replied, stepping into the Bullpen. With each step into the room, Judy moved closer to her chair, where she usually sat during meetings. "Apparently we have a situation on our paws here."

"Yes, I was just briefing the officers… Nick was bitten by a snake, and there's-" Judy tried to speak up, but Bogo cut her off before she could finish.

" _Wilde_ is none of our concern here. Mayor Lionheart has informed me that our rogue hyena is currently in a shootout with our hyena mercenaries. He has ordered me to take as many officers as possible to the site and arrest every single hyena on the premise," Bogo explained. "Lionheart has made this our top priority… _failure_ is no longer an option."

Judy flinched as the cape buffalo sent a glare at her. _He knows,_ the rabbit realized. Bogo knew about her failure to arrest Blank after she had been wounded by SKY. "But sir!" Judy called out again, hoping that maybe she could at least get four or five officers to come with her. "We already have a situation developing… we can't just abandon-"

" _Lionheart_ has named this the top priority! I don't know what you want to drag my officers out to do, or why, but I don't care. We need to get this done, and we need to do it now," Bogo growled, causing Judy to slump down in her seat, utterly defeated. There was no hope, was there? Bogo and Lionheart were too focused on Blank… she didn't matter! _She's just a distraction,_ Judy grumbled internally.

"Apparently there have been a few developments since I've been gone. And while I don't necessarily agree with the changes Lionheart has made, there's nothing I can do about it," the cape buffalo growled. "So gear up! And get ready to head out in ten minutes!"

Judy felt numb as chairs all around her once again screeched against the floor as the officers stood up. They gave Bogo eager salutes, most of them excited about finally capturing the rogue hyena who had caused them all so much misery. They padded out of the room and headed for their poor excuse for an armory, but they would at least find everything they needed there.

"Chief?" Judy spoke up before Bogo could leave. She hadn't moved from her chair, but she did turn to stare at him. "What's going on? I thought Lionheart had a firm grasp on Blank… thanks to me."

"Apparently his grasp wasn't as firm as he thought," Bogo growled, not turning around to face the rabbit. "We don't have time to wonder what happened… we need to get moving. Go get geared up, Hopps."

Judy swallowed slowly as the cape buffalo walked away. She just didn't have the chance to get a word in edgewise. Here Lionheart was _once again_ ruining everything. It wasn't Blank's fault that the police were constantly being distracted by her… it was _Lionheart's_ fault for prioritizing a hyena that Judy was confident could never be stopped, contained, or killed. It was a waste of time, and with that serial killer on the loose, every second was precious.

XXX

Blank stood a few meters away from the front door to the hotel. She had done a quick perimeter sweep of the vicinity after Kat had left, just to make sure that she was truly alone. And she was. There were no cars and no other mammals to speak of, this entire block was basically one big dead zone. Except for her and the hyena mercenaries.

The hotel's windows had been boarded up just enough that Blank was confident the hyenas had no clue she was coming. She had no idea what the layout of the hotel was, but she was hoping that it wouldn't be too difficult to navigate. Besides, she hoped that once she caught the hyenas by surprise, most of them would be lounging in the lobby. But Blank had a feeling the Matriarch and her elite guard would be on the highest floor of the hotel.

Blank pulled her M4 off her back and clicked the safety off, before attaching it to the front of her flak jacket, that way it would be right there for her to grab once she blew the doors open. The hyena sucked in a deep breath and cracked her neck, while letting her breath out slowly. Pulling the pins on the grenades Kat had given her, Blank lobbed both of them against the front door of the hotel.

It didn't take long for both grenades to go off in a huge explosion, blasting the door of the old hotel off its hinges, and sending the old door skidding into the lobby. Blank wasted no time in rushing towards the hole in the entrance, her M4 raised and ready to fire. Immediately upon rushing into the hotel, Blank noticed a once beautiful grand staircase in the center of the lobby, leading up to the first floor.

The staircase was covered in a faded red carpet, and the once shiny golden railings had dulled considerably. But it was massive, easily large enough to fit two elephants going up or down at the same time. The first floor was visible, even from the lobby. Rows upon rows upon rows of doors lined the once fancy and expensive hallway that would've led to some of the finest hotel rooms in Zootopia.

The hallway was long, so long that Blank couldn't quite see down to the end of it, from her angle at least. But Blank assumed that there had to be another set of stairs, or an elevator of some kind to take patrons up to the next floor. There were five floors, after all, at least, as far as Blank could tell.

Behind the staircase was what looked to be a breakfast or dining area, as it was filled with tables and chairs and even old couches. Although Blank couldn't see behind the dining area, she assumed that there had to be some sort of gym space, or maybe a pool. Maybe even janitorial equipment, as a hotel this fancy and this big likely needed a lot of janitors and maintenance mammals.

Unfortunately, the next thing Blank noticed were a bunch of fully armed, angry-looking hyenas. They were ready for her, or perhaps they were just about ready to deploy somewhere else, but either way, it didn't matter. Blank was severely outmanned and outgunned. There were dozens of them crawling all over the lobby, the staircase, and the first floor, and they were all carrying various types of weapons.

In a span of a few seconds since Blank blasted the door open, she was already in a terrible situation. So she was forced to do the only thing she could think of. She dropped to her knees and pulled her trench coat around herself, hoping that the upgrades would be able to whether the storm.

The first bullet fired was by a hyena carrying a pistol who had a slightly faster reaction time than all his comrades. The bullet managed to graze Blank's ear before she had been able to cover herself completely with her trench coat. But in the mere microseconds between the hyena's first shot and his second, Blank had managed to cover herself with her improved trench coat, just in time too. As a veritable maelstrom of bullets rained down from nearly every direction imaginable.

Dings and pings echoed throughout the hotel nearly as loudly as the sound of gunfire as every single bullet fired at Blank was either deflected or absorbed by her armored trench coat. Pistols, submachineguns, and shotguns were emptied in mere seconds, every single round failing to penetrate Blank's trench coat. The improved thickness of the steel plating and the fact the steel plates were packed in closer together created a nearly impenetrable shield for the rogue hyena. Well, at least for small caliber rounds such as pistols and submachineguns, and for the poor penetration range for buckshot.

Eventually, the only thing that could be heard was dozens of clicking sounds as the hyena army dumbly continued to pull the triggers of their weapons, trying to pump out more rounds, despite their guns being empty. They stared at the trench coat covered Blank, waiting to see if they had managed to kill her or not, some of them still pulling the triggers, creating more clicking sounds. But Blank was not dead… in fact, besides the bullet that had grazed her ear, she had been completely untouched by any of the bullets fired at her.

Blank emerged from the hellfire, dramatically whipping her trench coat back behind her, freeing a majority of the bullets stuck in the steel plating, and sending the worthless hunks of lead scattering across the ground. Blank almost seemed to be moving in slow motion for the hyena mercenaries, who were still in the middle of reacting to her still being alive, but in reality, she brought her M4 to bear on a group of hyenas near the front desk and opened fire.

The assault rifle let out a controlled burst of full-auto fire, ripping into the group of hyenas, killing one of them with a headshot, and critically injuring another two. The spell was broken as the hyenas let out screams of pain and terror, causing their comrades to scatter, desperately seeking cover. Blank did the same, rushing towards the front desk, while keeping up the controlled bursts of full-auto, decimating the few hyenas stupid enough to try and reload their weapons instead of seeking cover.

Blank slid into cover behind the front desk, before propping herself up on her knees and placing the M4 on the desktop, using it to help control her fire as she emptied her clip into the mammals who had attempted to seek cover behind the railing on the staircase. The railing on the staircase was quite thin, despite being gold-plated, and the powerful assault rifle ripped right through the old railing, slaughtering anyone unlucky enough to be hiding where she was shooting.

But soon enough her clip was empty and the hyenas lucky enough to have sought effective cover had reloaded. She was forced to duck behind the desk as several submachinegun toting hyenas popped up from behind the railing on the first floor, firing down at Blank in an effort to hit her. They could clearly still see her, but their fire was not accurate enough to actually hit her.

Blank reloaded the M4 with practiced ease, before waiting for the sound of the hyenas' guns clicking. The moment she heard more than a few clicks, she switched fire from her M4 to the underbarrel grenade launcher on the assault rifle. She popped out of cover, and despite the few stray rounds fired at her from hyenas who had staggered their fire so they wouldn't be empty when everyone else was, she fired off her grenade launcher.

The grenade flew true, striking the railing on the first floor. The railing on the first floor seemed much thicker than the railing on the staircase, but the grenade did its job blasting open the thick mahogany wood. Although the grenade had done little in the way of casualties, it sent several hyenas flying from the blast.

Blank ducked back down and began reloading the grenade launcher. She had two more launchable grenades on her, as well as three more magazines in reserve. She doubted it would be enough to make it through the entire building, but that's why she had more weapons. She ejected the spent canister and reloaded a new grenade, before popping back out from cover.

She aimed up at the hole she had made in the banister on the first floor, hoping to shoot down the hyenas that could aim down on her cover. Despite their lack of success, Blank didn't want to test how long her luck would last. Unfortunately, as she focused on the few hyenas brave enough to pop out and return fire, she missed the hyenas still on the staircase aiming right at her. A round from a pistol grazed her neck, causing her to jerk backwards into cover before anyone else could get lucky.

 _Shit,_ Blank hissed as she held a paw up to her neck, feeling blood dripping onto her fingers. Popping the magazine out of her M4, and tossing it aside, she reloaded her weapon once again. As she was about to pop out again, she spotted a shotgunner out of the corner of her eye. Unable to fire at him, she ducked back down just as a hail of buckshot slammed into the top of the desk.

The shotgunner continued to advance towards the front desk, continually pumping and firing his shotgun. Blank knew when she was being suppressed, and figured, correctly, that she was being flanked. So she pressed herself against the far side of the desk, her M4 aimed at the entrance.

Sure enough, two hyenas came rushing around to try and get under the desk with Blank, both of them holding pistols. But Blank opened fire, her assault rifle tearing them asunder before they could even react. Realizing the shotgun toting hyena was now right behind her, Blank rolled forward just as the shotgunner hopped up onto the top of the desk, and fired down where Blank had just been.

Blank pulled the trigger once again, sending a burst towards the surprised shotgunner, blasting his head open as she did. But now she was exposed, and the hyenas on the first floor took full advantage of it, sending down another hailstorm of bullets in an attempt to get a lucky killing shot.

And they were getting a few lucky hits, grazing Blank's ears again, and hitting her back, protected as it may be, but she didn't stay out in the open for long. Blank rolled back into cover, pressing herself as far underneath the front desk as she possibly could to avoid the fire from above. She was immediately thankful for the hard granite top of the desk, otherwise the hyenas would have obliterated what little of it she could actually get underneath.

Blank gripped her rifle with both of her paws, sucking in a deep breath as she waited for the hyenas on the first floor to stop firing at her. _This is ridiculous… I can't stay pinned down here,_ she grumbled to herself as a bullet slammed into her knee, causing her to let out a hiss of pain. The bullet hadn't penetrated the padding on her knees, but she could still feel the impact.

Eventually, the hyenas firing down at her had to pull back to reload, giving Blank her chance. She rolled out from underneath the desk, before popping up, firing off a few rounds towards the hyenas on the ground floor rushing her position. There were still a lot of hyenas alive, and many were too close for comfort.

She killed a few, her assault rifle making quick work of the lightly-armored mercenaries, before suppressing the others. Seizing the window of opportunity, she vaulted over the desk and raced towards a small table for two. The table was made of steel, as were the chairs. Highly uncomfortable to sit on, but they would make for better cover than the front desk.

Hyenas on the ground floor and on the first floor began taking pot shots at her, hoping to take her down while she was in the open, but she was moving too fast, and there were too few vital areas for them to hit. Bullets glanced off her trench coat and slammed into the floor near her, but she never once slowed down until she reached her destination, dropping down onto the ground to do a power slide behind the table, flipping it over on its side as she did.

The square table angled perfectly against the hyenas above her and was still thick enough to be effective against the hyenas on the ground floor. Blank panted hard as she switched fire to her underbarrel grenade launcher, before poking out from cover. Despite the fire still raining down on her, and her getting hit on the shoulder, she launched the grenade up onto the first floor, once again causing the hyenas there to panic and scatter. This time, however, the grenade blast killed most of the hyenas above her.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she ducked back into cover to reload. With fewer hostiles above her, she should be able to engage the ground hostiles more easily. She wasn't in the clear, of course, but the engagement had just gotten easier. So she focused on reloading her weapon, starting with the magazine first, then the grenade launcher.

The hyenas on the ground, however, weren't going to let her just sit there and reload. They had gotten tired of being pinned down and suppressed, and noticed that, although Blank's new cover had better protection from enemies above her, she was more exposed on her sides than she had been underneath the front desk. Upon realizing this, a hyena carrying a desert eagle gestured with a nod of his head towards a dozen of his comrades, before rushing towards Blank's position.

Blank was busy reloading the grenade launcher, having just ejected the spent canister, when she heard the thunderous sound of dozens of feet hitting the ground at full speed. Glancing out from around the steel table, her eyes widened as she saw the swarm approaching her. She let out a list of expletives as she halted reloading the grenade launcher, and brought the M4 to bear on the advancing enemies.

She stayed mostly behind cover, balancing her assault rifle on the metal table to minimize recoil as she lit up the group of hyenas. They returned fire, of course, but it was nowhere near as effective as her M4 slaughtered hyena after hyena. The full-auto fire was difficult to aim properly, but the continuous stream of bullets did its job, blasting holes in her opponents, and splattering blood and organs across the floor, creating a slick surface that caused the hyenas in the back of the swarm to stumble and slip.

Alas, the magazine in her M4 was not enough to deal with all of the hyenas approaching her, and she didn't have time or space to fall back and reload again. So she dropped her M4, letting it clatter to the ground as she reached underneath her left armpit, pulling a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun from a holster hanging there.

Along with her AA-12, full-auto shotgun, she had two other shotguns with her. A sawed-off, and a super-shorty pump shotgun, both of them for different situations. And this one called for the sawed-off. Blank calmly padded towards the still recovering hyenas that had slipped on the blood and guts coating the floor. Her combat boots squelched against the ground as she padded up to the closest hyena and executed him with a headshot as he was still trying to push himself off the ground.

The second hyena had managed to push herself off the ground and bring her own shotgun to bear on Blank, but it was too late, as Blank was already ready for her, pulling the trigger a second time, blasting her chest open with a spray of buckshot. Blank tutted to herself as she shoved the sawed-off back into its holster before approaching the last hyena. The desert eagle toting male, who had managed to get back onto his feet, and was desperately reloading his weapon, fumbling with the magazine as he did.

Blank showed him no mercy, of course. The moment he slammed the magazine into the gun and released the slide, she was already on top of him, grabbing his arm and twisting it out of the way. He fired instinctively, however, but his round only slammed into the ground. Her other paw wrapped around his neck and lifted him off the floor, silencing him before he could shout profanities at her.

His allies from the first floor attempted to come to his aid, poking out from the rafters and firing down at him. But Blank used his body as a shield, letting the small arms fire pierce into his back, but not make it far enough through him to cause her any threat. Blood began seeping from the male's mouth as Blank increased her grip on his throat, crushing his windpipe… but he died from the bullets fired at him long before he suffocated.

Blank managed to wrench the desert eagle from his dead paw and return fire at the hyenas on the first floor. With only six shots in the magazine, she was only able to hit and kill three of the five mammals left, blood and brain matter blasting out the back of their skulls as they died.

The two remaining mammals pulled back to reload, giving Blank time to drop the dead hyena she had used as a shield. She pulled the sawed-off out of its holster and reloaded it quickly, before putting it back underneath her arm. She was getting tired of dealing with hyenas above her, so she decided to switch strategies, as she made her way towards the grand staircase, pulling the AA-12 off her back.

The two hyenas on the first floor had finished gathering their courage too late, as Blank made it to the top of the staircase and began firing at them. They had nowhere to run, unfortunately, and they were blasted apart by accurate, powerful slugs. Once those two hyenas hit the floor, Blank finally allowed herself to take a short breath. She had done a lot of killing, but she had a feeling that there were more enemies on the way.

So she wasted no time in rushing towards the elevator at the end of the hallway on the first floor. Although she had left her M4 down by the steel table she had used for cover, she was out of ammo for it. So it wasn't worth going to pick up. She needed to get moving as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, by moving so quickly, she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings…

The only clue she got that she had made a misstep had been the tiniest of _clicks._ She had been running past one of the doors on her way to the elevator, before she stepped on a well-hidden pressure pad. _A booby trap,_ she realized too late as the door next to her blasted open and a huge battering ram slammed into her side, causing her to go flying against the wall opposite of the door the battering ram had burst through.

Blank's vision blurred as she slid down the wall and collapsed onto the floor, letting out a loud, painful groan as she did. Despite all her protection and all her armor, a blunt attack with that much weight behind it hurt like a fucking bitch. She had been tricked into thinking the hallway was clear. The hyenas fighting on the first floor must've armed the booby trap while she had been busy fighting off the desert eagle toting hyena and his followers.

She carefully pushed herself off the floor, her ribs aching like hell. Her vision was still blurry and she could swear she was seeing stars, but her hearing worked just fine. And she could hear multiple doors down the hallway being thrown open as more hyenas rushed out to fight her. Forcing her throbbing muscles to _move_ , she rolled to the side, taking cover behind the huge wooden battering ram as the hyenas down at the end of the hallway lit her up.

Blank stayed behind the battering ram, her assailants not letting up their fire as they slowly made their way towards her position, staggering their reloads so she wouldn't have a chance to poke out without facing a fully loaded weapon. But they underestimated their opponent, as Blank let out a roar of fury, standing up from cover and opening up on the approaching hyenas.

She stood strong in the face of the oncoming bullets, caring more about the rounds she was firing downrange, rather than the rounds coming at her. She took a few hits on her chest, and another one on her shoulder, but nothing too vital as she unloaded the drum of heavy slugs at the group.

The slugs tore through the hyenas even more efficiently than the assault rifle had, and even caused a bigger mess of blood, organs, and bone fragments. Blank had practically painted the hallway a new color as the last hyena dropped to her knees, missing half of her face, before collapsing onto the floor. Smirking slightly, Blank let the empty drum drop to the ground before pulling her only backup drum from behind her back.

She reloaded the AA-12 as she approached the elevator at the end of the hallway. This time she was loading mostly buckshot into the automatic shotgun, as well as a mix of special explosive rounds custom to the AA-12. Anything that got hit by one of those would be especially sorry.

She padded up to the elevator and reached out to hit the button, but was greatly surprised when the elevator dinged before she ever got the chance. Flicking an ear, she took a short step backwards and aimed her shotgun at the opening elevator doors. The moment the doors were open wide enough for her to see inside, she began unloading. The elevator had been packed to the brim with surprised hyenas, yelping and screaming as they were torn apart by buckshot.

Blank grinned savagely as she slaughtered every hyena she could in the elevator, before one of the hyenas taking cover as best she could hit the door close button. The elevator doors began to close, but Blank never gave them a chance to escape, as she stuck her foot out just enough to stop the doors.

Four hyenas had managed to take appropriate cover, though they had fumbled and dropped their weapons in doing so. They let out screams of fear as they desperately wrenched knives from their belts, but Blank hardly gave them a chance to use them. She pointed the AA-12 at the hyena who had hit the door close button, blowing her head clean off with one of the special slugs in the drum, before dropping the weapon and pulling out the sawed-off again.

Two enemies behind her and one in front was no problem for a hyena like Blank. She kicked at the enemy in front of her, sending him crashing into the side of the elevator, stunning him for only a moment, but a moment was all she needed. Blank whipped around at a frightening speed, grabbing the arm of another male hyena who was just about to stab her. Blank twisted his arm out of the way and pulled the trigger of her sawed-off, causing a spray of blood and brain matter to explode not just all over the elevator ceiling, but splattering across Blank's and the other female hyena's faces as well.

The female hyena screamed as the squishy mess got into her eyes, blinding her just long enough for Blank to put her out of her misery too. The male that Blank had kicked recovered less than a second before and attempted to take Blank from behind, but the hyena whipped around again, this time delivering a vicious backhanded slap across his face.

The male stumbled, dropping his knife as he did, but Blank was tired of playing games, and grabbed the back of his head roughly, keeping him in place by his mane as she dropped the sawed-off and pulled out her knife. She rammed the knife into his neck before he could even begin struggling, causing him to let out a pained squeal, that quickly turned into a gurgle as blood pooled in his mouth. Blank twisted the knife, before wrenching it out of his throat.

She let go of his mane, allowing him to hit the ground facedown, the gash in his neck spilling his red lifeblood across the elevator floor. Blank was starting to breath heavily at this point, as the hit from the battering ram earlier was causing her difficulties breathing, but she leaned forward and hit the button for the top floor, before slamming her fist against the door close button.

She sheathed her knife as the elevator doors attempted to close. Blank glared as the doors stopped before hitting one of the dead bodies blocking the doorway. Grumbling to herself, she knelt and dragged the corpse out of the way, before hitting the door close button once more. This time the door closed without a problem, and the elevator lurched as it began rising to the top floor.

Blank popped her back, her ribs flaring up as she did. Damn, that one big hit she took was worse than any of the smaller ones she had taken. At least her ribcage wasn't completely pulverized, otherwise she would be screwed. She bent down to pick up her sawed-off and reloaded it, before slipping it back into its holster. Then she drew a new weapon from the holster underneath her right armpit, a TEC-9.

She wasn't the biggest fan of machine pistols, it was the only thing she could fit in that holster that wasn't another sawed-off. And although she loved shotguns, she figured she needed something with a better rate of fire to stand a chance against the horde of hyenas in the hotel rather than a fourth shotgun.

The elevator arrived on the fifth floor with a ding, but Blank didn't wait in front of the door as it slowly opened. Instead, she ducked to the side, hiding behind the part of the elevator that housed the floor buttons. And sure enough, the moment the doors opened wide enough, all the hyenas who had been waiting for her opened fire.

Hundreds and hundreds of rounds, most of them nine-millimeter submachinegun rounds, rocketed into the elevator, only to end up hitting the back wall. But the hyenas kept firing until their weapons were empty, a multitude of clicks signaling to Blank when it was time to pop out of cover and return fire.

The TEC-9's vicious rate of fire sliced into the group of hyenas, mincing the closest hyenas into bullet-ridden corpses as Blank rushed from the elevator. She ran straight towards the closest open room, emptying her machine pistol as she did. The hyenas in the hallway scattered, diving towards their own rooms so they could reload their weapons.

There was a hyena holding a knife in the room Blank dove into, but before he could even think about pouncing on the rogue hyena, Blank pulled her sawed-off out and capped him just as she had several others before him. And he wasn't the last either, as a foolish hyena skidded into the doorway holding a pistol, hoping to take advantage of the distracted rogue, only to meet the business end of the sawed-off.

With the immediate threat taken care of, Blank dropped the sawed-off and began reloading the TEC-9. This far into the battle, she was starting to take ammo conservation into account, suddenly wishing she had been allowed to take her precious M60 with her. Her M60 would've made quick work of her enemies, blasting through their cover, and cutting them into ribbons once they were exposed. But now she was down to just two more magazines for her TEC-9 and a dozen more shotgun shells. Shells she decided were better used for her super-shorty pump-action shotgun rather than her sawed-off. So she dropped the now worthless weapon to lighten her load.

With her machine pistol reloaded, she poked her head out of the doorway to see several other hyenas all doing the same. The hyenas left were clearly more cautious than the others, as the moment they saw Blank, they ducked back into cover. _Cowards,_ Blank growled internally as she stepped out of her room without fear. She padded over to the closest room she knew a hyena had pulled back into, and immediately figured out why the hyena was afraid.

He was barely a teenager, cowering on the floor, holding a submachinegun shakily in his paws. The moment Blank came into view, he let out a frightened shriek and began unloading in her direction. But his paws were so shaky that the bullets spat out of the submachinegun went everywhere. They hit the floor, the ceiling, the walls, but only one managed to actually hit Blank. Unfortunately it was absorbed by her plate carrier.

Blank waited until the boy was out of ammo, before unloading into his skull, trying to end his life as quickly as possible. _They're children!_ she realized as she padded out of the room, a heavy frown on her face as she made her way towards the next room she knew was harboring a hyena, praying there wasn't another child inside.

Unfortunately, her prayers were not answered, as the moment she stepped into the room, a little girl that looked barely six fired a pistol round into her chest. The bullet did nothing against her flak jacket, and the little girl's pistol went flying out of her paws and clattering onto the floor. Blank coldly emptied the rest of her machine pistol into the little girl, knowing she didn't have a choice.

The TEC-9 tore the little girl apart quite literally, splattering her body against the wall she was cowering against. The older hyena turned out of the room, reloading her weapon as she did. She spotted another scared face poking out of one of the rooms, and this time she managed to actually bring her weapon around and fire at him. This time her bullets flew true, slamming into his skull, and sending him staggering backwards until he hit the doorframe.

Blank tossed her machine pistol aside as the boy slumped down onto the floor, his lifeless eyes staring into her soul as blood dribbled from the holes in his face. Gritting her teeth, Blank pulled her pump-action super-shorty shotgun from her belt and made her way towards another room.

It was grizzly work, being an executioner like this. Sometimes she would enter a room and be met with a bullet to the chest or with a spray of inaccurate submachinegun fire before she killed the occupant, but typically she would only find crying children. Sometimes they would try and hide from her, underneath the blankets on the bed, or under the bed itself. One even tried to hide in the closet… but none had escaped her.

How could they? They couldn't stop whining and crying, giving their position away. But Blank made sure each kill only took one shot. She wanted it to be painless. She _needed_ to believe it was painless. By the time she was making her way towards the final room, she had killed over a dozen kids, and was down to one last shotgun shell.

Each step she took towards the room was labored. With each step she paused and sucked in a deep breath, before reassuring herself. What had she been thinking when she started this crusade? That she would just be fighting adults? Guilty, cruel, evil adults?

 _That was exactly what I had been thinking,_ she growled to herself as she took another step. She had forgotten that there were still children amongst her species… why wouldn't there have been? They needed to keep their numbers up, after all, and the only way to do that was to have children.

No… it wasn't her fault that she had forgotten about the children. It was the Matriarch's fault for _bringing_ them into this war! Blank had hoped the children had stayed behind… and she could callously order a strike from afar to blow up the house without ever having to know how many children there were in there. But here, on the battlefield, she had no choice but to execute each one.

She took another step, before pausing once again, and sucking in a deep breath. _I… I am a machine,_ she growled internally, forcing herself to take another step. It was the only way she would ever be able to get through this. She had to remind herself who she was. _What_ she was. And she _was_ a monster.

Finally the final room came into view, and Blank saw what was inside of it. Two female hyenas, both of them holding knives. One of them looked much older than all the others, maybe fifteen years old, but still a child in Blank's eyes. The other one looked quite young, maybe nine or ten. The youngest had tears streaming down her face, but the elder one glared at Blank with all the hatred she could muster. But with just knives, they were little threat to the larger Blank.

Blank's shotgun hung limply by her side as the older of the two hyenas rushed at her, raising her knife as if to stab it into Blank's neck. But Blank simply raised her shotgun and with a simple trigger pull, blasted the female's head from her shoulders. Buckshot at that close of range was quite deadly, and the instant death caused the smaller hyena to let out a fresh bout of sobbing, practically bawling her little eyes out.

The now headless body collapsed to the ground as Blank dropped her shotgun, as it was out of ammo. Blank pulled her knife from behind her back and approached the little girl, ready to end this confrontation. Blank had spotted a set of stairs near the end of the hallway that likely led up to the penthouse, where the Matriarch was likely staying with what little of her forces remained. Blank grabbed the little girl's arm, twisting it roughly to make her drop her pathetic little knife as the older hyena raised hers above her head…

"That's enough," a deep voice sounded from the doorway, causing Blank to pause before she brought the knife down. Blank glanced behind her, her eyes narrowing as she saw a familiar male hyena in a trench coat, his arms crossed and a deep frown etched into his muzzle.

Blank let go of the little girl, who immediately ran over to the male hyena, crying loudly. The male dropped to his knees and spread his arms, letting the little girl leap into his grasp with a squeal of, "Daddy! The mean hyena hurt my arm!"

Blank glared at the male, who glared right back, despite the little girl in his arms. "It's okay, sweetie… it's okay…" the male muttered, before he set her aside. He stood, never looking away from Blank, as the little girl latched onto his leg. "How could you kill your niece, sister?"

"Stop calling me that," Blank snarled as she sheathed her knife. She rolled her shoulders, before cracking her neck once again. "And you shouldn't have sent her to fight against me."

"… I didn't have a choice…" the male hyena muttered, swallowing softly. He was clearly fighting back tears as he spotted the headless corpse in the room. "I didn't want this for them."

"She was beautiful, wasn't she?" Blank asked quietly as she saw him looking at the dead body. "Was she yours?"

"No… but sometimes it seemed like she was," the male replied. "But you've already killed… almost all of my kids… you monster…"

"I did what I had to do," Blank sighed as she tore off her trench coat and tossed it aside. "And you can't stop me."

"I have to stop you… for what's left of my family, _our_ family… I must stop you," he growled, before leaning down and separating his leg from the little girl. "Go to the room across from this one and wait for me… please."

The little girl stared up at her father and nodded silently, before running away. "You know that I'll have to kill her too… once I'm done with you," Blank hissed as she stripped off her belt and tossed it aside, before removing the harness that had held the two holsters under her arms and throwing that aside as well.

"You don't _have_ to do anything, sis," the male growled as he sucked in a deep breath putting his arms up by his neck, entering his meditative stance. He pushed his arms down his chest slowly, exhaling as he did, as if he was _pushing_ the breath from his lungs.

Blank had seen him do this before, and was royally unimpressed. "I _do_ have to do something, _brother dear_ ," she growled as she dropped to her knees, her tone laced with sarcasm. She pulled something out of one of her flak jacket pockets. It was a syringe filled with blue liquid "I won't stop… until you're all _dead!_ "

The male hyena sucked in another breath, bringing his paws back up to his neck as he repeated the cycle. Blank, on the other paw rammed the needle into her arm and pushed the plunger down as she did, before throwing the syringe across the room, causing it to shatter against the wall. She sucked in a few deep breaths as the male hyena continued his ritual, before she let out a terrifying _roar_.

XXX

 **Alright, so… don't hate me. I wasn't entirely sure… if I wanted to include this piece or not in the story. Obviously, I did anyways. Mostly because there are quite a few of you who commanded me to 'not pull any punches,' so that's what I'm doing. Blank kills some kids in this chapter… there's no tiptoeing around this, there's not other way to look at it… she kills some kids. Although I have no doubt some of you draw the line at killing kids, hopefully you don't abandon the story because of this.**

 **Anyways… with that out of the way, I can mention just a few last things. One, hyenas do have manes… though they aren't quite like lion manes, they're more like horse manes (look it up if you're curious). Two, if anyone's curious, the chapter title is a lyric taken from the song** ** _The Metal_** **by Tenacious D… I would recommend listening to it while reading the second section of this chapter, but hey, do what you want. Third, yes, Bogo's back! I hope no one forgot about him! Oh, and Blank finally used the Hercules serum… and she's about to fight her 'brother.' I wonder how that'll go… stay tuned until next time to find out!**


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34 – Indestructible:

Author's Note:

 **A little bit of negativity last chapter, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I hope, however, that the depressing note that we ended on gives you a kind of idea of where the story is heading. From the beginning I intended this to be a dark story… of course, not every chapter is dark, and I purposefully put certain scenes in the story to give it a more lighthearted feel (that way when things actually got dark, it was more surprising). In any case, I don't want to say this story is going to have a bad ending, but I will say that the night is darkest just before the dawn.**

 **USA Patriot thank you for both reviews! Starting with the review about my author's note, it's hard for me to say 'oh, you should worry about every single character in my story, as I could kill any of them at any minute' while at the same time saying 'man, killing Nick and Judy at the end of a story sounds like a shitty way to end a story.' You can hopefully see my struggle because I really like Nick and Judy… and I've sorta fallen in love with my own interpretation of them, and from that, you could deduce that at the end of the story, they'll both be alive. But… at the same time, I also want to say, 'just for thinking that, I'm going to kill one of them.' So… I'm in a bit of a bind for how I should reassure you while not spoiling the story at the same time. So, in the end, hopefully you'll enjoy however this story ends up ending…**

 **As for your first review, Lionheart attempted to call in to check on his team, but no one answered. Of course, he assumed the worst, and went ahead and called in the police. He was right, obviously, but still a little paranoid. Second, Blank wasted all that ammo because, upon realizing that she was fighting children, she suddenly lost the will to fight, even if only temporary. I didn't do a wonderful job of showing her grappling with her own internal mission of genocide against her own race, but hopefully you see that forcing herself to do this caused her to lose spirit, for just a moment. Of course, that rage returned once she saw her 'brother.'**

 **Well… I've been having a few… complications, in case you all were wondering where I've been. Most of my classes this year require a lot of my time studying, and the time I usually have set aside for writing is being… let's say interrupted, by my roommate who is no longer going home every weekend like he did last semester. Hopefully last month was the only bump that we'll be experiencing for this story this year, but I can't make any promises. But posting is most certainly going to slow down. And I'm very sorry about that. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

The male hyena barely managed to prevent himself from flinching as he heard the sound that escaped the female hyena's lips. He continued his meditative process, preparing himself for the upcoming battle. Once he was finished, he struck a fighting stance, a more defensive one than he was used to, as he didn't quite understand what the female was doing. She wasn't striking any stances, rather, she remained on all fours, breathing in and out from her mouth, her teeth bared.

He noticed that her breathing seemed labored, as her claws dug into the floor, leaving deep gouges in the old wood. She was panting quite audibly, drool beginning to drip from her teeth and onto the ground as she struggled with each breath. Whatever she had just injected herself with was clearly hurting her. So much so that the male hyena decided he couldn't just stand there and listen to her ragged gasping.

So he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out his largest shuriken. The female's ear flicked, but he didn't seem to notice as he spun the bladed disk around his index finger as he decided the best place to aim. She wasn't moving, and with the lack of a defensive stance, he had a clear shot straight into the back of her neck. Where his weapon would likely kill her immediately.

The male let out a soft sigh, as he had hoped this would have been at least more of a fight. He took aim, before cocking his arm back to launch the shuriken. However, just as the bladed disk was leaving his paw, the female finally reacted. She looked up, just as he let go of the ninja star, her pupils no more than thin slits as she glared at him. She was still panting with her teeth bare, more saliva dripping onto the floor than before.

His weapon flew towards her at a vicious speed, but it didn't seem to matter to the female. She reached out with surprising speed and plucked the bladed disk out of the air as if it had just been hanging in front of her face, not moving at all. The male blinked in surprise, realizing whatever she had injected herself with was indeed working. _This just got more interesting,_ he muttered to himself, striking another stance.

The female dropped the shuriken and hefted herself off the ground with another _roar_ , this one causing the male to flinch. Her jaws clacked shut, cutting off the frightening sound prematurely, but the male could still hear the echo throughout the old hotel. But he didn't have the time to listen to the echo as the female charged at him, fangs flashing in the dim light of the hotel.

He barely managed to put up his arms in a blocking motion before she slammed into him, knocking him backwards. He staggered out of the room and into the hallway, reeling from the hit. But she didn't give him the chance to recover as she lashed out again, kicking him hard in the chest. He slammed against one of the walls of the hallway, opposite that of the room he had found her in. His impact shook the wall, leaving a sizable dent, as well as cracks in the plaster. It looked as if the wall's strength had been worn down with age.

She didn't let up on her assault, however, as she slammed her fist into his guard again, trying to break through. Although the blow pushed him back up against the wall again, his guard held strong. As she pulled her paw back to ready another heavy strike, her knuckles cracking as her paw clenched into a fist, he dropped his guard and delivered five rapid strikes to her stomach, chest, and neck.

She didn't even flinch, however, following through with her attack regardless of his attempts to stagger her backwards. Her fist flew forwards and slammed into his face, causing his head to snap back. He spun around, hitting the wall again, this time face first, before slowly sliding down onto his knees, his head spinning.

He shook his head, trying to rid the stars from his vision, but it was no use. He let out a low groan as he tried again, once more to no avail. He could swear she knocked a tooth or two loose, but it was difficult to tell through the haze. He barely even noticed her paw grabbing the back of his head, before he felt himself being pushed downwards.

She slammed his head against the floor, flicking her ear as she heard a satisfying crunch. Blood pooled around his head from his broken nose, causing her to let out a loose cackle. It was that laugh that brought the male out of his daze. It was far more… animalistic than anything he could produce.

Realizing that she was forcing his head back, so she could slam it against the ground again, he was forced to act quickly. He twisted his body just enough that he could bring his leg around and kick her as hard as he could. She stumbled forward, letting go of his head, but rolled before she fell flat on the ground, popping to her feet immediately after she recovered.

He, in turn, pushed himself up to his feet as quickly as he could, wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his paw as he did. He cracked his neck quickly, trying to relieve the pressure he felt after she had punched him in the face. It didn't do much, but it was fast enough that he had time to strike another defensive stance, just as he saw her leaping forwards.

He dodged out of the way, stepping to the side so that she missed him with her charge. As she rushed passed him, he cocked both of his fists back, and threw them forward, slamming into her side with as much power as he could give. She stumbled, tripping over her paws from the change in momentum.

She hit the ground, before rolling away from him and hopping to her feet as quickly as she could. _I guess I need to put more strength behind my blows, then,_ the male mumbled internally as she let out a loud snarl. He adopted a more aggressive stance, waiting for her to rush him again. He just needed to wear her down… eventually she would fall.

She roared again, charging at him once more. She didn't hesitate in the slightest, despite his change in stance, rushing towards him with her teeth bared. But this time, as he hopped to the side to dodge her charge, she turned on a dime, and caught both of his fists before they could hit their mark.

He let out a growl as she crushed one of his paws in hers. One of his paws was covered in bandages and clearly still weak after the knife wound from their previous encounter. He struggled in her grasp, trying to break free as his injured paw started bleeding through the bandages again. But she held firm, pulling him closer to her rather than letting him go.

Once he got close enough, she smashed her forehead against his in a vicious headbutt. He let out another groan, his entire face hurt now, as that hit only served to exacerbate his broken nose. He tried to pull away again, and this time she let him go, causing him to stumble backwards, more blood dripping from his nose.

She kicked him hard in the chest, causing him to fly backwards and hit the wall behind him once again cracking the plaster. But she didn't let up, charging at him once again. She slammed into him with all her weight behind her, breaking through the wall and throwing him onto the floor.

He skidded on his back on the floor of one of the hotel rooms. He came to a stop near the bed and tried to roll over onto his stomach to push himself up. But before he could even turn over, he felt something heavy plop down on his chest. Looking up, he spotted the female hyena putting all her weight onto him, pinning him against the floor.

She leaned over him, her face hovering over his. He flinched away as drool dripped from her fangs onto his muzzle. As he looked away, he spotted a little female hyena hiding underneath the bed. His eyes widened as he realized it was his daughter. She opened her mouth to say something, but he couldn't make it out, the female on top of him was growling too loudly and too close to his ears.

"Run!" he ordered, hoping that the little girl could hear him better than he could hear her. He felt the female's teeth on his neck, digging into his skin sharply. The little girl's eyes widened as she crawled out from underneath the bed.

But she didn't run, not even as he let out a scream of pain, the larger female's teeth breaking through his skin and sinking painfully into his neck. His vision went blurry, but he could make out the tears forming in his daughter's eyes, and he could even make out the word, 'daddy,' on her lips. But she wasn't running, despite no doubt seeing his blood leaking out of the fresh holes in his neck, staining the wood of the hotel room floor.

" _R-run!_ " he managed to choke out, hoping, praying that his little girl would follow his command. He managed a small smile as he saw her turn tail and run, before his vision went black, and the last sound he heard was a devastating _crack_ as his neck broke.

XXX

Blank panted as she glanced up from the dead body below her. Blood was still dribbling from her lips as she glanced over at the door where the little girl had ran through. "It's probably not worth chasing her down," Blank grumbled, slowly pushing herself off the floor, and padding over to the door.

She made it out of the hotel room just in time to see the elevator at one end of the hallway shut. The little hyena girl had escaped… not that it mattered. She could be hunted down later. What was more important was making it to the Matriarch before she had the sense to escape as well.

Blank marched towards the other end of the hallway, where there was just a simple door. But she knew her target must be behind that door. It was the last place in the hotel to hide. However, halfway between the room Blank had exited and the end of the hallway, the hyena stumbled.

She managed to catch herself before she hit the floor, breathing heavily as she did. Her next few steps were wobbly as she continued the struggle towards the door at the end of the hallway. _I can't believe the effects have already worn off,_ she panted, each step she took causing immense pain in her legs. Her breathing was labored, her paws hurt, and her head was spinning. And yet, she continued the march towards the Matriarch.

She couldn't stop. Regardless of the pain, she _refused_ to stop in her dogged pursuit. This clearly went beyond just her mission. With each pained footstep and each labored breath, she drew closer and closer towards the Matriarch. She was out of ammo and she had abandoned all her weapons. All she had was her flak jacket and her own two fists.

She leaned against the door at the end of the hallway once she got to it. She was still breathing heavily, and needed a moment to rest. The serum had taken quite a bit out of her. She knew that it would be a taxing endeavor to use the Hercules serum, but she had hoped it would've lasted longer before she felt this exhausted. But she didn't let thoughts of failure infiltrate her mind. She could still win… even in this weakened state.

Finally regaining her composure, though it was clear all resting did was weaken her further, she opened the large wooden door and padded through it to find a set of stairs. Grumbling softly to herself, she ascended the staircase, each step causing her to grimace in pain. Luckily the staircase was short, and at the top of the stairs was yet another door. A very fancy door, if age and rot hadn't set in decades ago, reducing what was a beautiful door to nothing more than another obstacle in Blank's path.

This door was even heavier than the last, but it wasn't locked. _The Matriarch must be expecting me,_ she grunted as she forced the door open and padded inside what once was the penthouse suite. The room was huge, at least two, maybe even three times the size of the hotel rooms Blank had just been in. However, it appeared that this room was nothing more than a living room, and there were several other rooms branching off of the main room. The penthouse seemed more like a small home instead of a hotel room.

And at the opposite end of the room from where Blank entered, was a large chair. The chair was clearly once a part of the décor of the penthouse, but the purple color it was once was severely faded. The back of the chair rested against the boarded-up windows, but who was sitting on the chair was what caused Blank's eyes to narrow menacingly.

A massive female hyena sat in the faded purple chair. One leg was crossed over the other and her paws were folded in her lap as she returned Blank's glare unflinchingly. She was wearing some type of robe… or maybe it was a cape. Blank couldn't quite tell while the hyena was sitting. But what truly tipped off Blank as to the identity of the hyena before her, was the huge hyena's golden eyes, different from Blank's own yellow, and the piercings.

Piercings littered the Matriarch's ears and nose. Six golden studs were set in each of her ears, and another six silver piercings ran up the bridge of the Matriarch's nose, three on each side. And Blank knew of more piercings obscured by clothing or hidden inside of the Matriarch's mouth.

The penthouse room was dim, as the only light source was the small beams of light pouring through the cracks in the boarded-up windows. But even with the lack of good lighting, Blank could see enough in the room to know that she and the Matriarch weren't alone. And almost on cue, the others in the room made their presence known, stepping further into the light and closer towards her.

The door behind Blank closed as the twelve female soldiers that made up the Matriarch's personal guard surrounded the rogue hyena. They carried a myriad of weaponry, not all of them had firearms. One had a sword, another had only her bare fists, but most of them carried some type of gun.

They surrounded Blank in a tight circle, their weapons aimed at her, prepared to strike the second she so much as twitched. The rogue hyena ignored them, continuing to pant and glare at the Matriarch instead. A single loud snapping sound caused the Matriarch's personal guard to halt in their steps.

"I was worried you weren't going to make it," the Matriarch's gentle voice seemed to carry throughout the entire room. Her tone was soft, almost angelic. Her paw was raised, her thumb and middle finger still touching, threatening to snap again if her guard didn't back off.

Blank remained motionless as the hyenas that had been surrounding her retreated to the fringes of the room, the shadows obscuring them once again. "Oh? You were expecting me?" the rogue hyena asked, raising an eyebrow. The frown never left her face, nor did she drop her glare. Her breathing was starting to even out, however, as standing motionless was giving her body a much-needed reprieve.

"But of course… the moment I found out you were in the city, I knew you would come for me," the Matriarch chuckled. "So I prepared this little… mother-daughter reunion for you. Tell me, has your rage subsided? Your thirst for vengeance quenched?"

Blank ground her teeth together, clenching her paws into fists, but did not answer. But to her credit, she didn't look away either. "What a stupid question… of course it hasn't," the Matriarch sighed. With a grunt of a woman clearly older than she looked, the Matriarch pushed herself out of her chair and began making her way towards Blank. "You hardly even hesitated against the children."

"Why did you send them into battle against me?!" Blank snarled, her glare intensifying as the Matriarch approached her. She couldn't hold it back anymore, the anger, the rage.

"Because it was what you wanted, was it not?" the Matriarch asked, cocking her head. "You wanted to kill all of us… all of your species. That's what it means, you know, to kill all of us. You have to kill the kids too. And you did… very impressive might I add."

"So was that it? You wanted to test my resolve?!" Blank growled again, gritting her teeth even harder. So much so that she thought she saw stars, though that could have just been the after effects of the Hercules serum kicking in again. "Or were you expecting your little ploy to actually work?"

"Still so childish, even after the operation you cannot see the forest through the trees," the Matriarch sighed as she came to a stop in front of Blank. She was an entire head taller than the rogue hyena. "New hyenas can be born; another clan can be bred… some of my personal guards are pregnant at this very moment. Sacrificing all I had just so that you and I can meet one-on-one with no weapons… this was a chance I could not throw away."

"They were your shields to the very end… thrown in my way to make me waste ammo and guns," Blank realized. She clenched her fist even harder, ready to strike at the Matriarch at any moment. "Just so that you and I could fight on even terms."

"Hardly. Again, you miss the bigger picture. I do not wish to fight you, though in your current state, I would hardly even consider it fair," the Matriarch rolled her golden eyes. "No… I wanted a chance to talk to you."

"Bullshit!" Blank roared as she cocked her arm back, before throwing a vicious uppercut. The Matriarch didn't even flinch however, catching the rogue's paw before it ever had the chance to connect with her face.

"I had a feeling you would react like this," the older hyena shook her head, letting out a soft sigh as she did. Before Blank had a chance to even react, the larger hyena threw an uppercut of her own, striking beneath the smaller hyena's jaw.

Blank stumbled backwards, but didn't fall over. Luckily her jaw was still intact, though it stung something fierce. But she shook off thoughts of pain and rushed the Matriarch again, hoping to maybe flank her, or surprise her with a frontal assault. The older hyena didn't move as the younger hyena closed the gap between them and threw another fist at her.

The Matriarch easily blocked each one of Blank's strikes with the back of her paw, before ramming her palm against the rogue's chest, and blasting the smaller hyena off her feet, throwing her backwards. Blank rolled to a stop a few feet away from the Matriarch. She coughed loudly as she struggled to push herself to her feet. She wasn't done yet.

Blank teetered as she made it back on her feet, but didn't fall over again. She knew that, even if she was in perfect health, she would never win in a one-on-one fist fight with the Matriarch. The enormous hyena was the largest and strongest in the clan, and that included Blank too, at one point. Blank's only hope was the Hercules serum, but it hadn't lasted as long as she had hoped it would've.

"You should've stayed down," the Matriarch said, her tone still as soft and light as ever as Blank rushed her again, hoping for something. Anything. The rogue hyena didn't stop her charge to throw a strike, however, she kept coming, trying to tackle the larger hyena. The Matriarch was unamused.

The Matriarch raised her paw and brought it down on Blank's neck in a chopping motion, sending the younger hyena to the floor once again. Once again, Blank let out a ragged cough as she tried to push herself up to her feet, but only made it to her knees. "Are you finished yet?" the Matriarch asked, a tinge of boredom lacing her voice.

"Never," Blank hissed, glaring up at the Matriarch as she tried to struggle to her feet.

"I was afraid of that," the Matriarch sighed, before backhanding her daughter. Blank's head snapped back, but it was just another opening for her mother to grab her neck, picking the smaller hyena up slightly, before slamming her against the ground.

Blank tried to get up again to desperately continue the fight, but the Matriarch had clearly grown tired of throwing her daughter to the ground. The larger hyena slammed her fist down on Blank's chest, causing the small hyena to let out another cough, this one accompanied by blood. Despite the heavy-duty flak jacket, the force of the blow reverberated all throughout Blank's body, shaking her down to her bones.

It was at this point Blank's strength finally abandoned her. She lied on the floor, her mind still struggling to get up, but her limbs refused to obey. They let out an occasional twitch or jerk, but Blank could not order them to move. She was stuck on her back, with the Matriarch staring down at her.

But only for a few seconds, before the Matriarch gently lowered herself to the ground, kneeling next to Blank. "I think you're ready to listen now… like I said, I did not wait for you here wanting to fight you," she said.

"Fuck you," Blank hissed, looking away from the Matriarch as best she could.

The Matriarch allowed herself to roll her eyes. "Still so childish," she sighed. "Would you change your tone if I told you that I wasted all my forces and put myself in potential danger just to ask for your help?"

"Help?" Blank scoffed, glancing back over at her mother. "Like I would help you."

"Ah, but it piques your curiosity, does it not?" the Matriarch managed a small smile. "Surely it must be eating you away inside… what could I possible need your help for?"

"As if," Blank rolled her eyes, looking away again. Though it was very clearly a lie. She _was_ interested in whatever her mother wanted her to do. But at the same time, being difficult might give her time to recover her strength.

"Liar… but I planned on telling you whether or not you wanted to help. It's not like you have much of a choice other than listening to me," the Matriarch sighed softly. "Obviously you've figured out why we're even in the city, otherwise you never would've been able to track us down."

"Of course I know what you're after… Lionheart's head," Blank snorted. "And my team… BLACKOUT."

"Ah, very close. Our target was only your mayor… we targeted your team as well simply because you were on it," the Matriarch managed a small grin. "Unfortunately, as you know, we've had a bit of… trouble with your mayor. And we've already received our payment… and our employer is very upset that the job isn't done yet."

"And you want me to finish the job for you?" Blank's eyebrow arched high, before letting out a snicker, "Fat chance."

"Oh? I'm quite surprised you believe that," the Matriarch's grin widened ever so slightly. "See, the way I understand it is… you're already thinking about killing your mayor."

"What makes you say that?" Blank asked, her eyes narrowing.

The Matriarch snapped her fingers loudly again, causing one of her guardswomen to slip into one of the bedrooms. She came back a moment later carrying something with her. "You see, when our employer contacted us, he sent a gift. A brand new, shiny laptop," the Matriarch grinned as she held out her paw, letting her guardswoman hand over the piece of technology. "Our employer has kept a _very_ close eye on you… and he's been sending us orders and updates. And one of the most recent ones is the most interesting…"

Blank's eyes widened slightly as she watched the Matriarch open the laptop and turn it on. _I've been watched?_ she wondered to herself, alarm bells ringing in her head. It was disturbing, but somehow it made so much sense.

"Ah, here's the message," the Matriarch said, turning the laptop around to show the message. But, just to get the point across, she read it aloud as well. "Your daughter's mate has been taken hostage by Lionheart. No doubt this is the chance you've been waiting for. Use this information wisely."

"He's not my mate," Blank growled, glancing away again so that she didn't have to look at the message. Who had been watching her? How… how did they know about Wolfgang?

"That's irrelevant… he's important to you," the Matriarch said softly, one of her paws ghosting over Blank's ears, causing the younger hyena to flick them. "There's no need to feel ashamed, we've all felt love at one point or another. It doesn't make you weak."

"Shut up…" Blank growled, trying to roll away from the older hyena. But the Matriarch grabbed her chin and forced the exhausted hyena to look at her. The older hyena's grip was strong, but it didn't hurt.

"The fact remains that, no matter who he is in relation to you, you were planning on rescuing him," the Matriarch let a small smirk slip through. "This is mutually beneficial for the both of us. You can get your mate back, and we can finish our job."

Blank glared at the larger hyena, refusing to answer. The two stared at each other for several minutes, before the Matriarch let out a soft chuckle and patted Blank's cheek. "I know that look. You'd really be willing to abandon your mate just out of spite?" she asked, standing up as she did.

"He's not my mate," Blank repeated, her eyes still narrowed in a ferocious glare.

"Don't be stupid," the Matriarch rolled her eyes. She snapped her fingers together again, and two of her guardswomen padded over to Blank, hefting her off the ground. They followed their leader back to her chair, where they dropped the rogue to her knees as the Matriarch sat down. They stayed close, however, their paws on Blank's shoulders to keep her balanced.

"Don't you see that this is mutually beneficial for the both of us? You get to rescue your mate, kill the one who took him, and then run away with him," the Matriarch said, setting the laptop on her lap. "And for us, well, we get to say, 'job well done' and go back home to recover. Don't let your pride and spite blind you."

"I will _never_ help you," Blank snarled, throwing all of her hatred behind the word _never_. No matter how much sense the Matriarch thought this agreement would make, Blank would rather let Lionheart live than help her mother.

"That's a shame," the Matriarch sighed. "I was hoping that by meeting like this, I would be able to sway you. But it seems like your hatred for me and your species outweighs logic. No matter… there are other ways to force you to help me."

"Oh? I'll never break, you old bitch," Blank hissed. "You'll have to kill me."

"Ah… my employer can be very… persuasive. I'm sure he'll be able to change your mind," the Matriarch finally let a smirk spread across her lips. It was vicious, and contrasted immensely with her soft tone. "I think it's time you meet him."

The enormous hyena stood and snapped her fingers again. The two guards that were holding Blank down, hoisted her onto her feet, grabbing the rogue's arms roughly. "Let go of me!" Blank growled, doing her best to struggle against the strong paws holding her.

The Matriarch opened her mouth to taunt her daughter, but one of her guardswomen by the door called out, "Ma'am! Something's coming up the stairs!" before the older hyena was able to say anything.

The Matriarch looked over at her guard and raised an eyebrow. "What? What's coming up the stairs?" she asked.

"I don't know… but it's big!" the guard replied, pressing her ear to the door. "And it's moving fast…"

The Matriarch's eyes widened in surprise, before shouting, "Get away from the door!" But it was too late, the door blasted off its hinges, throwing the guard backwards, before the heavy door landed on her. The guard screamed, but it was cut off quite quickly as her body was crushed beneath the door.

A rhinoceros came charging through the opening, not slowing down even after bursting through the heavy door. He only gained speed now that he was on flat ground as he charged straight towards the Matriarch. The guardswomen didn't hesitate in opening up at the rhino, but his heavy skin and armor shrugged off their bullets.

The Matriarch, however, did not move out of the way. She stood firm as the rhino bared down upon her. Right before the rhino's horn struck her, she lashed out with all her might, ramming her fist into the side of the rhino's head, causing the larger mammal to veer off course. With all the momentum the rhino had behind him, he crashed onto the ground, sliding for a few feet as he did.

Before the rhino even had the chance to pick himself up, the Matriarch was already on him. A hidden blade sprung from the underside of her paw and she rammed it into the larger mammal's eye. The rhino screamed and thrashed, but that only forced the blade deeper into his skull, eventually killing him.

"That's a ZPD uniform," the Matriarch realized, upon further inspection. She turned around, her eyes wide as she spotted Blank smirking slightly. "There's more coming. Get ready!" she called out just in time for multiple ZPD officers to burst into the penthouse, guns raised and ready.

 _Lionheart must've called for backup,_ Blank snickered internally as the two hyenas holding her up threw her to the ground so they could bring their weapons to bear on the intruders. "Open fire!" the Matriarch ordered, though she was well aware of the fact that they were outnumbered.

Both sides lit each other up, bullets starting to fly throughout the large room. But no matter how large it was, it was quite bare. Finding cover was difficult, and the hyenas had already managed to duck into other rooms, using them as cover. But the ZPD mammals continued to pour into the room, and the hyenas were quickly overwhelmed.

But they never stopped fighting. They would never let themselves be captured. The Matriarch, who was using the rhino's body as cover wasn't armed with a firearm. She was forced to watch the battle from the sidelines, but the moment she saw that her guard was being overwhelmed, she shouted out, "Regroup and retreat!"

Her guard had fought admirably, slaughtering what she believed to be a dozen or more ZPD officers, but the odds just weren't in their favor. Luckily, they had only suffered one casualty, the guard who had been crushed by the door. And none of them had been captured… if they could escape now, they would still be able to fight another day.

"Don't let them escape!" a large cape buffalo ordered as the Matriarch rushed from cover towards one of the boarded-up windows. She grabbed one of the boards and ripped it off the window, revealing a fire escape ladder waiting for her. She rushed out of the window, and slid down the ladder to freedom.

The other guards kept up their fire as they slowly made their way towards the escape. One by one, they slipped through out of the penthouse and slid down the fire escape, joining their Matriarch on the ground. And despite the ZPD's best efforts, they were unable to stop any of them from getting away.

"Goddamn it!" the cape buffalo roared as he stormed over to the window just in time to see the group of hyenas flee. They had sent everyone into the hotel, expecting heavy opposition, but they didn't have enough cops left over to create a sizable blockade.

"Sir, our target is still here," a lion officer spoke up, causing the buffalo to turn around. His eyes widened as he spotted Blank leaning against the Matriarch's chair, having gathered enough strength to move her arms.

"Indeed she is," Bogo growled as he made his way over to the exhausted hyena. Blank ignored him as she used what energy she had to reach into her pocket and pull out her pack of cigarettes. There were only two left, but she grabbed one with her teeth, and lit it with a lighter she pulled from her other pocket. Then her arms fell to her sides, her energy spent.

Bogo towered over Blank, smirking down at her. He noticed immediately that she was too weak to fight back… this was perfect. "You're under arrest, you have the right to remain silent, everything you say can and will be used against you by a court of law," he began reading her rights, but she interrupted him before he could finish.

"Just shut up… just shut the fuck up," she hissed, smoke spilling from her nostrils, before she sucked in another ragged, tobacco infused breath.

"I don't think so. You've caused us enough trouble already… to finally have you in custody is… well, I'm sure you understand the feeling of satisfaction," Bogo chuckled, before reaching down and flicking the cigarette out of her mouth. He had been wanting to do that for so long. For so long that smoke had aggravated him… and now he finally had the power to make her stop.

In retaliation for having her cigarette taken, Blank blew smoke into the cape buffalo's face, causing him to rear away with a grimace. "Cuff her and take her to the SWAT van. We're taking no chances with this one," he ordered.

A lion and a tiger officer approached the hyena and hefted her up. They slapped pawcuffs on her, before leading her out of the penthouse. The other officers filed out behind her, their weapons drawn and at the ready in case she tried something. This left Bogo almost completely alone in the penthouse.

"I'd like to be in the back of the van with her, sir," Judy said, stepping closer to her chief. "I know her best, and I'd be able to spot if she was going to try something."

"Granted," Bogo growled, before stepping on the still smoking cigarette and twisting his hoof to smash it against the ground. Then he padded towards the exit.

Judy made to follow him, but she spotted something on the Matriarch's chair. Blinking a few times as she realized it was a laptop, she grabbed it, deciding that whatever was on it was important. Then she followed her chief out of the penthouse.

XXX

 **Whew! This one turned out rather well, I think. Not quite as long as the last one, but still sizable. The problem is, and the reason why this chapter took so long, I just don't have the time to sit down and type out these longer chapters. Longer chapters require more planning than you may think, plus they require more editing. So yes, while I haven't been totally inactive this past month or so, the chapters of** _ **Rache**_ **are much, much shorter.**

 **But, in other news… Spring Break is coming up! It starts next week, actually, and while I won't be able to get a chapter out when Spring Break starts (the week before Spring Break is always very busy), but I plan to have at least one chapter done by the end of Spring Break. So hopefully you all have that to look forward to. Stay tuned until next time to find out what happens to Blank!**


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35 – Kat and Katherine:

Author's Note:

 **And here it is, just as I promised it would be! Spring Break is great and all, but one of my asshole professors is giving us an exam the Monday after Spring Break is up, so that means that I've been writing this while studying at the same time. Which sucks, because I've been really excited about this chapter.**

 **There isn't much else to say, other than things are probably only going to get even busier for me when I go back to school, and my summer is looking very busy as well… the rest of this story might take me the rest of this year to finish. Which is a harrowing thought at best… remember when I wanted this story done over Christmas Break? Yeah, I do. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

"Are you really going to make me sit on my paws?"

"Yes. So shut the fuck up, bitch."

"Bitch… haven't heard that one before. You know, legend has it that no one has called me a bitch and lived to tell about it. I wonder what that says about your future."

"Why you little-"

" _Bitch?_ Please, I like a little variety in my insults, I don't know about you."

Judy rolled her eyes as one of the officers escorting Blank into the back of the SWAT van, a lion, cocked his fist back, and punched the hyena across the muzzle. "You hit like a pussy, though I suppose that makes sense. Pussy cat," the hyena snickered, ignoring the blood dripping from her nose.

"Cool it, all of you," Judy finally growled before the lion could throw another punch. She put one paw on her hip, her other still clutching the laptop as best it could, and glared at them, knowing that technically, they didn't have to listen to her. She wasn't chief anymore. And she knew no one would care if they roughed Blank up a little bit… she was a ghost, no one was going to step forward to defend her rights.

"Come on, _chief_ , things were just getting' interesting!" the tiger complained, unsheathing his claws as he did. Judy could tell he was enjoying seeing the hyena who'd caused every officer on the force so much suffering receiving a taste of her own medicine.

The rabbit's eye twitched a few times from being called chief, though the tiger was clearly being sarcastic. "I said that was _enough_ ," she ordered, her tone dropping dangerously low. "Uncuff her and recuff her paws in front of her body, I don't want to hear her complaining the entire trip back to the precinct."

The tiger grumbled something, but did as Judy requested, uncuffing the hyena and then recuffing her, so that her paws were now in front of her body. Then he and the lion shoved Blank into the back of the SWAT van, so Judy could climb in behind them. They shut the doors and tapped the small window in the wall separating the diver's cabin and the back of the van.

The driver started the vehicle and took off. Judy had no idea who was driving, but it really didn't matter. As long as he or she could get them safely to the precinct, everything would end up fine. The lion and tiger sat down on one side of the van with Blank in between them, while Judy elected to sit across from them, setting the rather large laptop down beside her. Besides, there wasn't enough room on the other side for her… there was barely enough room for the two officers and the hyena.

Both of the larger officers had a tight grip on Blank's arms, though her paws were folded in her lap. Judy watched Blank in silence for a moment, both of them, one bound and the other free, clenching and unclenching their paws into fists. The two glared at each other with all the hatred they could muster.

But finally, Judy could stand the silence no longer. "You really screwed me, you know that?" she growled, still attempting to burn a hole through Blank's head with nothing but her eyes.

"And how, _pray tell_ , did _I_ screw _you_?" Blank hissed, returning the bunny's scathing glare with one of equal intensity. "From my point of view, _you_ screwed _me_!"

"I don't see what you mean by that, it's your own damn fault for getting caught," Judy huffed, crossing her arms.

"I don't give a shit about getting caught, believe you me, I'll escape from this just like I escaped from Lionheart," Blank managed a smirk. "And hey, to be clear, I don't blame you for that either. I would've done the same thing in your position."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't bullshit me, Bunny Cop. I know you put a tracker on me, letting Lionheart trace my location," Blank rolled her eyes. "But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about how you let _her_ get away."

Judy arched an eyebrow. "Who did I let escape?" she asked, cocking her head slightly.

"The Matriarch… you know, the _big_ one you let burst through the window," Blank snarled. "You only managed to kill _one_ of them! I would've thought you could've at least _capture_ the others so I could kill them later, but _no!_ "

"I think you did a good enough job _killing_ them before we got there," Judy's eyes narrowed, grinding her teeth together as she did.

"Nah, the job's not good until it's done… and it's not done until they're _all_ dead," Blank growled, sitting up a bit straighter, and rolling her shoulders. "So forgive me if I don't give a shit about your problems… 'cause now I've gotta go and hunt them down _again_."

"Excuse me? Unless I've mistaken your predicament, the only thing you'll be doing is going to jail," Judy growled. "And even if Lionheart frees you, I doubt he's going to let you have the freedom you had before… he'll probably have a new mind control chip or whatever ready for you the moment he hears we captured you."

"No prison you can make will be able to hold me… and no chip Lionheart has will be able to contain me," Blank smirked again. She stretched her legs out, moving them around a bit to affirm that she had control over them again. "I _will_ be free."

"Well, I guess we'll just see about that, then," Judy huffed, leaning back against the side of the van. There was no way Blank could ever escape… even if Lionheart couldn't control her, Judy doubted even Blank could escape the grave. So she turned her thoughts away from the hyena, and towards how she was going to be able to convince Bogo to give her a squad to take down that snake…

"Yes, we shall…" Blank muttered, her smirk vanishing. She was starting to regain a bit of her strength, but she knew she wouldn't be able to overpower these two large felines. It wouldn't be a problem if she was at full strength, even if she was cuffed and already in custody. _I'll have to outsmart them, then,_ Blank sighed… though she didn't believe it would be too hard.

Blank waited a few moments until she was sure the Bunny Cop was too deep in thought to notice if she tried something. She wiggled her arms a bit, testing the strength of the two paws gripping her arms. Sure enough, the moment she started to move, they clamped down even harder.

"What the hell are you doing, bitch?" the lion asked, glaring down at her, his teeth bared. He was _very_ close to unsheathing his claws and digging them into the hyena's arms. That would teach her not to struggle.

"Trying to reach a cigarette," Blank admitted with a smirk. She looked up at the lion, but stole a glance at the bunny to make sure she was still staring off into the distance. She was. "You chief denied me my previous one and I have an addiction to feed."

"This van is small, and I don't want to catch any secondhand smoke from you," the lion growled, turning away from her again, but not letting go of her arm. "No one wants to smell your nasty tobacco, bitch."

"I thought the Bunny Cop said she didn't want to hear me complaining," Blank snickered. "You wouldn't want her angry, would you?"

"I'm not scared of her," the lion rolled his eyes, though Blank couldn't help noticing him glance nervously at the bunny.

"Aw, you don't have to lie to me, pussy cat," she chuckled. "To be honest, she scares me a bit too…"

"She does?" he asked, though her statement drew a snort from the tiger. The lion looked back down at the hyena with slightly widened eyes.

"Of course, who wouldn't be afraid?" Blank asked, holding back another snicker. "How long do you honestly think you could last in a fight with her? Weapons or not?"

"… Not long…" the lion admitted, glancing back at Judy again to make sure she was still spaced out.

"Exactly. Now let go of my arm so I can grab my pack of cigarettes. Then everyone'll be happy," Blank grinned.

"I won't be happy…" the lion grumbled, but did as Blank asked, letting go of her left arm. The tiger still kept his hold on her right arm, but he loosened his grip in case she needed to lean a bit.

Blank couldn't help baring her teeth in a ferocious grin as she reached into her pocket and drew out her packet of cigarettes. She tapped the bottom a bit, causing her last cancer stick to poke its head out of the slightly crumpled pack. She brought it up to her muzzle, but before she was able to slip the cigarette butt into her mouth, she moved her paw, causing the chain connecting her pawcuffs to enter her maw instead.

Before anyone even knew what happened, she bit down hard, her sharp teeth and strong jaws easily crushed the chain, allowing her to pull her paws apart. She dropped her cigarette package and jabbed the lion hard in the neck before he, or anyone else, could even react. The tiger tightened his grip, but the damage was already done, Blank was loose.

She grabbed the gun hanging from the lion's belt, struggling slightly as the tiger tried to pull her back and onto his lap so he could restrain her, but she had regained enough strength to fight him off. She managed to free the gun from its holster, before the tiger lifted her off her seat. It was at that moment, Judy finally reacted.

The rabbit snapped out of her trance the moment she heard yelling and mammals struggling against each other. Her eyes widened as she witnessed Blank wrestling the lion's gun away from him, as the lion was still reeling from the neck chop, while the tiger tried to restrain her. Thinking fast, Judy went for her own gun, hoping to get a handle on the situation without having to shoot anyone, but Blank lashed out, kicking the bunny hard enough to throw her against the side of the van, knocking the gun from her grip.

Blank had actually unintentionally kicked Judy, but at the moment it was working in her favor. Her struggling was getting her somewhere, as she managed to twist in the tiger's lap before he could pull the gun out of her grasp, and she fired a round into his chest. He must've been wearing some type of body armor, as he only let out a loud gasp as the bullet struck his chest.

But it allowed her to wriggle free and turn around completely in his lap, straddling his waist as she did. She rammed the barrel of the gun underneath his neck before he could regain any semblance of control. His paws shot up in the air, and a pleading expression appeared on his face… but she pulled the trigger before he could get a word out in his defense. She didn't have time, or the room, to consider sparing him.

Not when the lion next to her was recovering from her chop attack and had unsheathed his claws. He slashed at her face, but she rolled off the tiger's lap just in time. The lion only ended up clawing his dead comrade. She didn't give the lion officer another chance to attack, planting a round through the side of his head before he could move. He collapsed onto his partner's lap, equally as dead as the tiger.

Blank didn't even have time to wipe the blood off her face, as quite a bit had splattered across her muzzle when she executed the tiger, before the small window separating the driver's cabin and the back of the SWAT van opened and a wolf's face appeared. "What the hell is happening-"

Blank fired through the open window before the wolf could finish his sentence. The wolf let out a pained yelp, before collapsing against the steering wheel. His body caused the horn to be pressed, and his weight caused the wheel to turn. The screeching SWAT van went careening off the road, crashing into a fire hydrant.

The hyena had braced herself before the crash, allowing her to remain on her feet, but Judy went flying the moment the van hit the hydrant. Judy let out a groan as she hit the back of the van and slid down onto the floor. She spotted her gun on the floor, but she didn't even have the time to reach for it before she felt a paw around her neck.

" _I'm free,"_ Blank hissed into Judy's ear, after lifting her off the floor and holding her up against the hyena's muzzle. "Just like I said I would be."

"Fuck… fuck you! Why won't you just stay down?!" Judy exclaimed, tears brimming in her eyes. Why… why did it seem like Blank was unbeatable? Why couldn't she just capture that goddamn hyena?!

"That's a stupid question, Bunny Cop… you know I can't give up, and neither can you," Blank chuckled as she leaned over and grabbed her carton of cigarettes… of one cigarette, and stuffed it back in her pocket, before bringing the tiger's gun to bear on the rabbit. Though it was fairly unnecessary with one of her paws still around Judy's neck.

"You won't be able to do this forever… even if I die, there are dozens of officers ready and willing to take my place, pursuing you to the ends of the Earth for all the death you've caused," Judy snarled as angrily as she could. "One day you'll be brought to justice."

"One day… but not today," Blank chuckled, shaking her head. She carried Judy over to the laptop still sitting on the bench, though it had slid down to the far end from the door when the van crashed. "Grab the laptop," the hyena ordered.

Judy hesitantly wrapped her paws around the device, holding it against her chest. "What are you going to do?" she asked cautiously.

"Escape, of course… using you as leverage," Blank explained as she padded over to the door and opened it, holding Judy in such a way that she could easily hold the gun to the bunny's head.

Dozens of police cruisers had converged on the SWAT van's location almost as soon as it had crashed. Officers were standing behind their car doors, guns drawn, and aimed at the SWAT van door, just waiting for Blank to make a move. What they weren't expecting was Blank to step out of the back of the van with a hostage.

"Hold your fire!" Judy cried out, hoping that none of the officers were feeling particularly trigger-happy.

"You heard the Bunny Cop, put those firearms away!" Blank roared as she stepped out of the back of the van carefully, still holding a gun to Judy's head.

The officers hesitated, clearly unsure of what to do. But Bogo slammed his fist into one of the police cruiser's windows, shattering it instantly. "Goddamn it! Stand down, everyone stand down!" he called out.

The officers exchanged glances, hesitating again, but eventually followed orders and lowered their weapons. Blank smirked again as she began making her way through the sea of police cruisers. But as she was about to pass by Bogo, he stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

She pressed the gun a bit harder against Judy's head, causing the rabbit to flinch and let out a hiss, but Bogo didn't back off. "Give her back," the cape buffalo ordered.

"Uh… no, I don't think so," Blank shook her head. "I think I'm going to hold on to her, for now… when I'm ready to leave the city, _then_ you can have your precious Bunny Cop back. This way she'll be insurance… so you idiots don't try and interfere again!"

Bogo grinded his teeth together but didn't make a move to stop the hyena as she pushed passed him and continued confidently down the road. The officers watched her leave, unable to do anything, even though the hyena was presenting her back to them. If they fired at her, and even if they managed to hit her, the hyena would probably still have time to pull the trigger. And even if she didn't, her weight falling on top of Judy would probably still crush the little bunny. It was hopeless… Blank had managed to escape, yet again.

XXX

Blank had long since left behind the tiger's gun. She was still carrying Judy by the neck, but she didn't need the weapon anymore. She had tried to shove the tiger's firearm into her holster, but it was just too big. So she was forced to throw it into a dumpster.

She and Judy had been weaving in and out of back alleys and hopping over fences, occasionally ducking into cover whenever Blank believed she heard something that sounded even slightly like a siren. She doubted she was actually being pursued, but that didn't give her an excuse not to be careful.

There was no way Bogo was going to risk the safety of his officer. Although Blank doubted Bogo actually _trusted_ Blank, she had a feeling he knew she wasn't going to hurt the Bunny Cop, unless she absolutely had to. And the only way that was going to happen was if Bogo attempted to interfere.

With Bogo out of commission, Blank's only real worry was Lionheart. The man was a bit of a wild card, as she had really not expected him to show up personally to capture her, but she doubted he'd try that again. However, Blank wasn't sure how many agents Lionheart still had at his disposal, so she wasn't entirely safe. For all she knew, the moment Lionheart found out about Bogo's failure to arrest her, he'd send another squad to try and capture her once again.

Her one advantage was her unpredictability. As far as Lionheart and his agents knew, she could be anywhere in the city. And by the time they figured out where she was, she could have already executed her plan and left the city. But that would mean leaving behind Wolfgang…

"Hey, Blank?! Are you listening?" Judy asked, finally breaking the hyena out of her train of thought.

"No not really… what did you say?" Blank asked, glancing down at the rabbit as she ducked into another back alley.

"Where are we going?" the bunny asked, wiggling a bit in Blank's paw. She was just trying to adjust herself, not escape. She knew escape was practically impossible.

"Somewhere safe, for now," Blank muttered as she trekked through the alleyway, before hopping over a fence. She exited the alley carefully, glancing both ways, before making a mad dash across the street, towards a giant, old-looking mansion.

"Uh… what is this place?" Judy asked as Blank made her way towards the front door and opened it. Both of them flinched when the alarm went off.

 _Oh good, she's here,_ Blank chuckled internally as she turned and punched the security code into the keypad embedded in the wall near the door. The alarm shut off a moment later, and she closed the door behind her.

"I know I'm your hostage and everything, but you can't just ignore every single one of my questions," Judy grunted, wriggling in Blank's paw once again.

"This is where I was captured," Blank explained as she padded into the dining room. The same huge table was still standing resolute in the center of the enormous room, stretching almost end to end. The hyena set the rabbit on the table, finally letting go of Judy's neck.

"Isn't this the first place they'll look for you?!" Judy asked, her eyes narrowing. She had no doubts in her mind that Blank would attempt to use her as leverage against Lionheart's goons just as she did against Bogo.

"Maybe, but I'm prepared for that risk. I could be anywhere in the city, and Lionheart doesn't know that I don't have a target yet… he'll probably start searching closer to the abandoned hotel in the slums I attacked," Blank explained. "Either way, we won't be here for long, I just need to pick up a few things."

"What do you mean by 'I don't have a target?'" Judy asked, swallowing softly. It didn't sound like a good thing, it sounded like Blank was planning on keeping Judy hostage for a few days, not a few hours.

"Well… how should I put this? My target is still the Matriarch, but I have no clue where she and her cronies ran off to. So as of right now, I don't know where to go hunting for them," the hyena explained.

"Then how are you going to find them?" Judy asked. She set the laptop aside in order to cross her arms.

"I have a few-" Blank started to say, but she was cut off before she could finish.

"H-hey! U-uh… w-who are you g-guys?" a scared, shaky voice drew their attention over towards one of the hallways. A skittish looking she-wolf stood in the entryway with a bow drawn and an arrow pointed at the larger of the two intruders. "W-why are you h-here?!"

Judy's eyebrows arched high as she spotted the wolf with the bow. Dozens of different questions ran through her mind, but she never got the chance to voice any of them as Blank took a step towards the timber wolf and raised her paw. "Shh, it's okay Kat-" Blank began to say, but she was cut off once again.

"Kat?! N-no, I'm not K-Kat! No Kats here!" the timber wolf shook her head quickly, taking a step backwards as she did. But she didn't lower the bow.

"Katherine, then… don't you remember me? I'm the one that pulled that chip from your head, remember?" Blank said, her voice soft as she took another step towards the clearly terrified she-wolf.

Katherine swallowed slowly, still trembling in place. But she didn't move as Blank slowly approached her. Finally, after several seconds of unbearable silence, Blank managed to put her paw on the wolf's bow, and gently lower it to the ground.

Katherine's reaction was immediate. She dropped the bow completely, letting the weapon clatter to the ground, before stepping forward and embracing the hyena in a bone-crushing hug. Judy couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips as she watched Blank stand stock-still, letting Katherine hug her as hard as possible.

"Uh… okay, Katherine… that's good," Blank said awkwardly. She wasn't sure why she was being hugged, but it definitely felt weird.

"You freed me!" Katherine sniffled as she refused to let go of the hyena. "There's no way I can ever thank you for freeing me!"

"Actually, I have a few ideas…" Blank chuckled, still standing rigid as the she-wolf continued their embrace. "If you would let go of me…"

"O-oh! Um… of course! S-sorry…" Katherine trailed off as she let go of the hyena and took a step backwards. "Um… I just r-realized that I don't know your n-name…"

"It's fine," the hyena muttered as she brushed herself off. She had never been in physical contact with anyone for that long before… well, discounting sex. That was something completely different. "And my name is Blank."

"Blank…" Katherine mumbled, as if testing out how the word sounded coming from her mouth. "I like it! That's a nice name…"

"Yeah, it is," Blank chuckled as she glanced back at Judy. The little rabbit couldn't contain the grin on her face as she watched the two mammals interact. "In any case, like I said, I need a favor or two from you."

"Oh, anything! I'll do anything you need me to do!" Katherine exclaimed eagerly, nodding her head as she did. The moment the chip had been dislodged from her skull, she could be herself again! Or at least… sometimes. She didn't quite remember how she got here, but she definitely remembered that here was home. Though she didn't remember why it was empty…

"Well, see that laptop over there?" Blank asked, gesturing over towards the machine in question. Judy, deciding to be helpful, opened the laptop up so Katherine could see it a bit better. The laptop didn't have a password on it, so it opened right up to the window it had been closed on. An email.

"Y-yeah?" Katherine nodded again, though much slower this time.

"I need you to trace an email back to its source," Blank explained. She padded over towards the dining room table again, with Katherine following behind her.

"Um… I don't think I can do that," the she-wolf shook her head. "T-Tech was always W-Wolfy's area of e-expertise. But, uh… if you want a picture painted, I can do that!"

The hyena let out a frustrated sigh. Of course it wasn't this easy. She had been hoping that Katherine would be able to run a trace just like her brother could, but apparently not. She had a feeling that the email, which had been sent by the mammal who hired the hyena clan, would reveal the location where the Matriarch had fled to.

"Fine… fine, you can't help that way," Blank sighed. That meant she would have to do this the hard way, then. "Then you'll have to help in a different way. If you can't run the trace, but Wolfgang can… then we'll have to rescue Wolfgang."

"Wolfy's in danger?!" Katherine wailed, her eyes wide as she looked down at the hyena again. "W-where is he? W-what happened to him?!"

"Wolfgang was captured by the same mammals that put that infernal chip in your head," Blank explained. It certainly wasn't a lie, and hopefully it would make it Katherine angry and desperate to save her brother.

"T-those b-bastards!" Katherine squeaked. Judy blinked a few times from her spot on the table. She had no idea Wolfgang had been captured. "How do we r-rescue him? I wanna help!"

"Well, I'm afraid that in order to rescue him, we'll have to break into City Hall," Blank explained, a small smirk spreading across her lips. "And unfortunately… I'm not sure that you _can_ help."

"I can't?" Katherine asked, cocking her head. "W-why not?"

"Because I need the other one. I need to talk to Kat…" Blank said slowly, showing extreme caution. She wasn't sure how Katherine was going to react to being asked to let Kat out again.

"K-Kat?! Um… nope! There's no Kats here!" Katherine shook her head rapidly, before turning away from the hyena with a frown on her muzzle. "S-she's gone… and g-good riddance!"

"Katherine…" Blank sighed. She knew this would be tricky. First to convince Katherine to actually let Kat loose, and then to convince Kat to actually help. But she couldn't do it alone… she needed Kat. "I know you're lying… she's still in there."

"N-no, she isn't!" Katherine shook her head again, crossing her arms, and hugging herself tightly. But to her credit, she didn't curl up into a little ball and bawl.

"Yes, she is. Just like I knew you were still in there when she was in control, I know she's still in there while you're in control," Blank said softly.

"S-she's just going to hurt me again!" Katherine whined, biting her lip.

"She's not going to hurt you… she can't hurt you anymore," Blank cooed. Judy watched with eyebrows arched as Blank attempted to sooth the distraught wolf. She had no idea what was going on, or who 'Kat' was, but she stayed silent. It wasn't her place to even speak.

"T-then she'll hurt others! S-she'll hurt other m-mammals!" Katherine complained, still not turning around to face Blank. "I have to keep her l-locked up! I… I can't deal with her h-hurting anyone a-again…"

"I promise anyone she hurts deserves to be hurt," Blank said, putting a paw on Katherine's shoulder. The timber wolf froze as the hyena's paw made contact with her shoulder. Then it was silent for several minutes.

"And so you come to me for help again, huh?" a drastically different voice came from Katherine's mouth this time. The pitch was much deeper and seemed to suck the innocence from the she-wolf. There was now a bite to her tone, as if she was speaking through bared teeth. "What makes you think I'll help you this time?"

"Rational self-interest," Blank smirked. "You and Katherine may act differently and think differently, but you inhabit the same body. Your will to survive is just as strong as hers."

"It's stronger," Kat snarled as she finally turned around to face Blank. "It's the only reason we're still here right now."

"Which is why you must understand that Katherine needs you for protection. And if Katherine doesn't need protecting, then her need for you vanishes. If she feels safe, that safety will strangle you," Blank explained. "Now, I know you, much like Katherine, love your brother-"

"Pah! Love is a bit too strong a word there," Kat sneered, rolling her eyes as she did.

"But if you won't save him out of love, then you'll do it to preserve Katherine's need of you," Blank continued. "You see… I'm planning on leaving the city with both Wolfgang and Katherine… and once we're on the lamb, then I'm sure we'll have need of you again. But I'm not going anywhere without Wolfgang, and neither is Katherine."

"So… you're saying that if I become obsolete, I'll no longer be able to take control?" Kat asked carefully, the bite in her tone softening a bit. But not leaving entirely.

"Not just no longer take control… you'll cease to exist entirely. Katherine only created you because she needs you… and if she doesn't, you'll vanish," Blank growled. In truth, she wasn't entirely sure if it worked like that or not… but Kat sure as hell believed it did. And although Kat was ruthless, violent, and bloodthirsty, what the timber wolf was most afraid of was vanishing entirely.

Kat bit her lip, but eventually let out a sigh of defeat. "Well, you make a lot of sense, unfortunately… as long as you promise I'll be needed, I'll help you get my stupid fucking brother back," she said.

"Excellent… it's a deal then," Blank grinned, holding out her paw. Kat reluctantly accepted the pawshake. Judy could only stand there and stare at the two of them, still completely confused. Now they were attacking City Hall?

"Hey, wait a minute!" Judy exclaimed a moment after they let go of each other's paw. "Does that mean I'm going too?"

XXX

 **Well, there you have it! As I predicted, Blank got loose and took Judy hostage. But it doesn't look like Judy's in that much pain… she's just being dragged around all over the place, occasionally used as a little bunny shield. Which of course doesn't make Blank look particularly good, but you'd do the same in her position. And now we finally have the long-awaited answer of 'what's gonna happen to Wolfy?' And the answer is, you'll find out next chapter!**

 **But before I sign off completely, there are just two things I'd like to clear up so there's no confusion. Firstly, the lion and tiger officers in the first section I didn't name because I couldn't quite remember who was injured and who wasn't. I know, I know, I could go back and re-read, but that would take too much time, and I don't know exactly where it is. And for some reason, I didn't write it down anywhere in my outlines. So they're going unnamed.**

 **Secondly, I just want to make sure everyone understands what's going on with Kat and Katherine. They're the same mammal, but different personalities. Dissociative Identity Disorder is basically what they're calling Multiple Personality Disorder now, which is the term I used in an early chapter, but never clarified. In any case, hope everyone's clear on all that. Stay tuned until next time to find out what happens to Wolfy!**


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36 – Storming the Castle:

Author's Note:

 **USA Patriot, thank you for the review, like always! Judy's line 'why won't you fucking stay down' is out of character on purpose. Over the course of the last few chapters, Judy has been becoming increasingly more desperate and frustrated, and that'll all culminate in the final climax of this story. It's on purpose, trust me. Continuing on, yes, Blank is sorta like the terminator, but I still prefer the comparison to the Punisher instead. And I'm very glad you like Kat/Katherine, she's one of my favorite characters in this story… it's a shame that she's in it so little.**

 **Also, quick side note, you said that you'll 'get to see Grandpa Wolfard's gun collection now,' but, ah… how should I put this? It's not 'Grandpa Wolfard' it's actually Papa Fritz (that was as awkward to type as it was to read, I have no doubt). Read back over chapter 31, and you'll see that Wolfgang said his father (Beowulf Fritz) owned a collection of guns. Wolfgang and (Gray) Wolfard are related through Wolfgang's mother, which is why they have different last names… so from Wolfard's point of view it would be Uncle Fritz's gun collection.**

 **In any case, I tried to get this chapter out as quickly as possible, luckily, I had plenty of time to type this Wednesday, otherwise you wouldn't have seen this for another week or two. Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Blank carried Judy with her as she followed behind Kat. The light gray she-wolf led the way down the winding hallways towards her father's collection of firearms. Kat carried her bow on her back along with her quiver. Eventually Kat came to a stop in front of a door labeled 'no kids allowed.'

Kat tried the handle, but the door was locked. "Damn it, dad," she grumbled, wriggling the handle out of frustration.

"Do you know where the key is?" Blank asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Kat grunted, before taking a step backwards. The she-wolf kicked the door as hard as she could, breaking off part of the frame, and throwing the door open. "We're not coming back here anyways…"

"As far as you know, that is," Blank chuckled as she took the lead, stepping into the dark room. The room was pitch black, even her night vision wasn't working. But Kat hit the light switch, illuminating the entire room with rows and rows of lights.

The room was huge, and packed to the brim with weapons, not just firearms. Everything from ancient Greek weaponry, to the medieval age, to flintlock… the room stretched for so long, that Blank couldn't tell what period the collection stopped. The weapons were stored in chronological order, some in glass cases, others hanging on the walls, and even some on racks in the center of the room. It was more like a museum than just a simple collection.

Blank couldn't help but feel like a little girl in a candy store as she took in the sheer beauty of the collection. She rushed towards the nearest rack, dropping Judy on the floor as she did. The little bunny let out a short, "Hey!" but the hyena ignored her.

Blank ran her paw across a dusty Spartan shield, admiring the bronze texture. Besides the dust, there were scratches and dents in the shield, indicating that it had been used in battle. But there was no rust or deterioration of any kind. Someone had taken very good care of this shield throughout the generations, enough that in the ten or so years it had sat abandoned in this room wasn't enough for it to rust.

"Every single piece is real," Kat said as she padded up next to the gawking hyena. "None of them are recreations. And every single one has been used in combat."

"Impressive," Blank muttered as she managed to tear herself away from the shield. There was still so much more, but she didn't really have time to admire every piece. The night was beginning to wax, now was the best time to make their move. "Show me the most modern pieces in this collection."

"This way," Kat muttered as she headed towards the back of the room, passing by Roman weaponry, full suits of armor, muskets, rifles, a Gatling gun… there was just so much history in this one room.

But eventually Kat made her way to the last section of the room. Blank's eyes narrowed as she saw what she would have to deal with. "Is this it?" she asked, gesturing towards a Garand. The last section consisted of weapons from World War Two, but even then, there weren't many.

"Is this the end of the room?" Kat asked sarcastically. Blank sent a glare her way, causing the she-wolf to roll her eyes. "Yes, this is all there is. Sorry about the 'limited selection.'"

"I guess I'll have to make due, then," Blank grumbled as she grabbed the Garand as well as what little ammo there was for it. Strapped the weapon to her back and pocketed the clips for the weapon.

Kat watched as Blank began wandering around the room, checking out different weapons, trying to find ones that she thought would be useful. In the end, she settled on the Garand that she had already grabbed, as well as a Trench Gun, a Thompson, and a knife that happened to catch her eye, considering she had lost hers.

"Done shopping?" Kat asked with a small smirk.

"Pretty much… though I think I'm going to change out of this uniform," Blank muttered.

"So the flak jacket and trench coat left in my room was yours, huh?" Kat muttered. "Well it's still there, if you want it."

"I do," Blank nodded as she began making her way out of the room. She passed by Judy, who was admiring a Scottish Claymore, but didn't stop to pick her up. "I think everything here's a bit too big for you, Bunny Cop."

"Yeah, I noticed," Judy grumbled as she tore away from the medieval weapon to follow behind the hyena and she-wolf. "You haven't told me what I'm going to be doing, though…"

"Can I trust you to stay here?" Blank asked, pausing in the doorway, but not turning around to look at the rabbit.

Judy thought for a moment, before answering honestly. "No… I don't think you can," she grumbled.

"I thought as much. That's why you'll be coming with us," Blank replied. "In case the ZPD show up."

"… Do I get a weapon, at least?" Judy asked.

"Even if you did, you wouldn't use it," Blank rolled her eyes, before continuing onwards. "Watch Judy for a moment, Kat, while I go and change."

Blank padded away from the two other mammals and retraced her steps through the maze of a mansion until she was in the dining room again. Then she turned and padded down the hallway she knew led to Kat's room. Kat and Judy had followed her for a while, but stayed in the dining room.

Blank swiftly changed out of the uniform Lionheart had given her, before changing back into her original uniform. Letting out a soft sigh as she got comfortable in her old clothes, she made her way back towards the dining room. Her old trench coat was slightly damaged, but her old flak jacket was actually in better shape than the one Lionheart had given her.

"Are you ready?" Kat asked, glancing over at Blank out of the corner of her eye. She was sitting at the head of the huge dining room table, tipping the chair as far back on its hind legs as she dared. Judy sat on the tabletop, swinging her legs over the edge.

"Just about," Blank muttered as she padded past Kat and crouched down on the floor. Spotting Wolfgang's Desert Eagle, she grabbed it, and stood up. She ejected the magazine to see how much ammo the weapon had. Satisfied with it missing only one bullet, she reloaded the weapon and cocked it, before shoving it into the empty holster on her side. The enormous side arm barely fit, stretching the holster to its limit.

She planned on returning the firearm to its owner once he was free. She wasn't sure where Wolfgang's shotgun-sniper rifle ended up, but at least she had his Desert Eagle. Blank cracked her neck, before turning towards Kat. "I'm ready… are you only bringing the bow?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's all I need," Kat replied with a grunt, before rolling out of the chair, letting it collapse against the floor. "Besides, we'll need a stealthy approach."

"Of course… Judy, don't forget the laptop," Blank nodded, before she made her way towards the door.

XXX

The perimeter of City Hall wasn't exactly crawling with guards. As far as the public knew, the building was just a normal government building, and the mayor was just a normal mayor that worked late nights. There were lots of cameras to prevent burglary and other petty crimes, but Blank and her comrades were easily able to bypass them.

The inside of City Hall was a different story than the outside. While the entryway only had a single guard, a ZPD officer who was assigned specifically to do this job, he was easily knocked unconscious by Blank's paws after Judy threatened to scream. She didn't want the hyena killing any more of her officers.

But after they made it past the entryway, they swiftly found that Lionheart had several of his squads roaming the hallways, carrying heavy weaponry. Luckily the small group managed to duck into the bathrooms before they were spotted. "They're patrolling in pairs… that makes taking them out much more difficult," Blank grumbled, slapping a paw to her forehead.

"But I would say that, since Lionheart has at least one personal squad patrolling, he's the only one here," Kat replied, hoping to brighten the situation a bit.

"At least one squad?" Judy asked, glancing between the two larger mammals.

"If Lionheart _is_ the only one here, then he could have multiple squads patrolling until he plans to leave," Blank explained. "But… that gives me some hope that there'll be less resistance once we make it to the secret base."

"True… if all the soldiers are up here, then actually freeing Wolfgang should be the easy part," Kat nodded. "So what's the plan?"

"There's gotta be a control center around here somewhere… if we can gain access to the cameras, we can track the guards' movements… then we can take them out one by one," Blank explained. "I don't want anyone to interfere in our mission."

"Right… I think I know where the control room is," Kat muttered as she pulled her bow off her back and fitted an arrow into the string. "Follow me."

The trio crept out of the bathroom, Kat in the lead, and snuck their way down the hallway, sticking close to the wall. They passed by Lionheart's office, not wanting to go in there until all the patrols had been neutralized. Luckily, Kat was able to lead them into the control room without any interference. They had managed to sneak in between patrol routes.

The control room was empty, thankfully. It seemed that it was only used during the day, when Lionheart couldn't have his personal guard roaming the halls. Since it was empty, however, it was easy for Kat and Blank to monitor the patrols for a few minutes, counting the number of guards and their routes.

"Right… three squads, which means six patrols," Kat muttered, making a mental note of the last patrol's route. "The closest one should be passing by this room any minute now…"

The wolf and hyena got ready, glancing back at the screens every now and then, until they saw the patrol passing by the control room door. The patrol consisted of a badger and a cheetah, both of them oblivious to the danger behind the control room door. The moment they passed by, Kat opened the door quietly and took aim, while Blank snuck up behind them with her knife drawn.

Kat reacted first, loosing her arrow just before Blank lunged forward. The arrow struck the base of the cheetah's skull, killing him instantly, while Blank slapped a paw over the badger's mouth, preventing him from crying out. He struggled in her paws, but she slipped her knife into his throat and twisted viciously until he stopped moving. Then she wrenched the knife free, splattering blood across the floor.

"Well that's one patrol down," Kat muttered, fixing another arrow to her bow. "We have about three minutes until the next one comes this way… are we just going to stay here and keep ambushing them?"

"No, that'll take too long," Blank sighed as she tossed the badger aside and rolled the cheetah over. She grabbed his gun, a nice Barretta model with a silencer attached. Wolfgang's Desert Eagle wasn't threaded for a silencer, and she needed something with a bit more stealth. "We know where all the guards are going, we can get them all before they even realize what's going on."

"That sounds more fun," Kat grinned, licking her lips. "Are we just gonna leave Judy here?"

"…" Blank didn't reply immediately. "We really shouldn't…" she eventually sighed, before heading back into the control room. Kat only had to wait a few seconds before the hyena came back, carrying the bunny in one paw and the Barretta in the other. "Let's move."

The trio slunk through the halls of City Hall, silently executing Lionheart's patrols. No matter how well trained those soldiers were, they really weren't expecting a sneak attack. Which likely meant Lionheart always had them patrolling after hours… they thought it was just a routine patrol, and not that someone was coming for their boss.

It took fifteen minutes for the intruders to eliminate every patrol, leaving the dead bodies where they were killed. There was no reason to move them. But with the task finished, all that was left was Lionheart. The trio circled back around to Lionheart's office, the huge double doors shut tight. They were tall enough to let a giraffe through without having to duck its head, and wide enough to let an elephant through with room to spare.

Blank finally let Judy go, dropping her back onto the ground. The hyena tossed the Barretta she had grabbed off to the side, it was almost empty anyways. And she needed Lionheart alive… for at least a little while. "Get ready," she hissed, pulling the shotgun off her back and pumping it.

Kat nocked another arrow and nodded her head. Judy only nervously shifted the laptop in her paws, unsure of what exactly they were going to do to the mayor of Zootopia. Blank brought the shotgun to bear on where the double doors connected. She wasn't sure if Lionheart had locked the door, but she wasn't about ready to try and open it only to find she was locked out. That would just give Lionheart time to prepare.

Blank fired the shotgun a few times at the door, each time aiming the weapon a bit lower just to be sure she got any locks. Kat blasted through the doors the moment Blank was done and fired an arrow right at Lionheart's shoulder. The lion, who had been taken completely by surprise, was too busy covering his face to protect from wooden shrapnel. The arrow struck him right on the shoulder, causing him to roar out in pain.

He tried to stand, but another arrow from Kat hit him right on his hip, casing his legs to buckle. Clearly, he had never experienced pain like this before. _And it's going to get a lot worse for him,_ Blank snickered as she raced into the room, slinging her shotgun back onto her back as she did.

Lionheart was reaching for a gun he kept strapped underneath his desk, but he barely had time to wrap his paw around it before Blank grabbed his arm and twisted it hard. Lionheart reflexively dropped the weapon he had just grabbed, but the hyena wasn't done yet. She continued twisting and turning his arm, sickening cracks of sinew and bone breaking echoed through the room.

Lionheart screamed in pain throughout the entire process. It was too much for him to even try and break free. With one final pop, Blank managed to tear the lion's arm out of its socket, rendering it worthless. The hyena took a step back, letting go of his arm. Lionheart continued to cry out, but he managed to gather enough strength to lash out at Blank with his good arm.

Blank caught his paw and slammed it against the desk, palm facing upwards. She grabbed her knife and rammed it through his paw and into the desk beneath it. Lionheart roared in pain once again, but the hyena grabbed the back of his mane, and forced his head forwards, ramming it against the desk. "Shut up," Blank ordered, pressing down on his head roughly to keep him down. "I'm going to keep this nice and simple. Where's Wolfgang?"

"Hnng… fuck you, bitch," Lionheart seethed, struggling as hard as he could. He tried to wrench free from her grip, maybe if he was able to grab the knife in his paw with his teeth, he'd be able to remove it… then he could run.

"Wrong answer," Blank growled, as she slammed his head against the desk again. He didn't stop struggling, however, forcing the hyena to introduce his face to the desk again. And again. And again.

She continued slamming his head against the desk until his body went limp. Blood poured from his busted lip and from his nose, and he let out a soft groan, "He… he's downstairs… in a secure vault…"

"What's the password to get in?" Blank hissed, leaning down so that her muzzle was right next to his ear.

"The code for the elevator is three-one-one-seven-four… but the vault doesn't need a code…" Lionheart groaned out again.

"Liar," Blank snarled, but she glanced over at Kat, then jerked her head over towards the wall where the elevator was hidden. A silent command to open it. "What's the code for the vault? You won't like it if I have to come back up here…"

"I'm not lying! The vault is only locked… by a locking wheel… it's easy to open on the outside, but impossible on the inside!" he exclaimed, before letting out a ragged cough.

Blank narrowed her eyes, but backed away from the beaten lion, padding over to Kat, who was just getting the elevator door open. "We've got what we need. Prepare for assault on the basement," she ordered.

"Are you just going to leave him up here?" Kat asked, glancing over at Lionheart. "Maybe we should just kill him."

 _Don't you see that this is mutually beneficial for the both of us?_

"No. No, we're not killing him," Blank growled. "Just in case he's lying, we'll be back for him."

With that declaration, Blank stepped onto the elevator, gesturing towards Judy to hurry the hell up and stop gawking. The rabbit sent a worried glance towards Lionheart… if the lion had seen her, then he made no note of it. But she was so small and standing so close to the desk, she doubted he could see her. So she hopped over to the elevator, still clutching the laptop in her paws.

Kat sent one last glare at Lionheart, wishing that she could just slit his throat, but for some reason Blank didn't want him dead. It didn't make any sense… if anyone should want that lion dead, it would be Blank. But the she-wolf didn't want to piss the hyena off… they still had a compound to raid and her stupid brother to rescue. So she stepped onto the elevator and hit the down button.

XXX

The moment the elevator doors opened, Blank came out shooting. She had selected the Garand as her weapon of choice, slaughtering every mammal she spotted. If Wolfgang was really in a secure location, then that meant there was no fear of friendly fire, as long as Kat and Judy stayed behind her. No one stood a chance against her onslaught, especially considering they weren't expecting it.

Most of the mammals attacked were wearing lab coats… they were the scientists running Lionheart's operations. But they weren't innocent, by any means. They were the ones who developed the mind-altering chips and they were the ones to implant them. They deserved this fate just as much as Lionheart did.

Blank emptied every clip she brought for the Garand into the helpless scientists, and what little agents Lionheart had left. The scientists were completely unarmed, all they were able to do was run. And with Kat picking off the stragglers, it didn't take long for the trio to clear the main room.

"Fan out, look for the vault," Blank ordered as she dropped the Garand and pulled the trench gun off her back. She reloaded it quickly as she padded down the hall. Kat made her way in a different direction. She knew this place a bit better, but still wasn't sure where the vault was. The loss of her chip was impeding her memory a bit, and she could no longer remember the exact layout of the subterranean bunker.

Judy, on the other paw, went in a completely different direction, still clutching the laptop against her chest. She knew she should've been sticking next to Blank, since she was unarmed and all, but she wanted to help as much as possible. The sooner this was over with, the sooner the hyena would let her go.

Judy padded down one of the hallways, keeping an eye out for anything that looked like a vault. She was so distracted that she almost missed a voice calling out to her. "Judy?" a distinctly male voice asked.

The Bunny Cop froze, her mind trying to figure out whose voice that belonged to, and whether or not she should bolt toward Blank. Unable to identify the voice, she slowly turned around… to see another rabbit standing behind her. Or… well, balancing on a crutch.

"Jack?" Judy asked when she recognized the black and gray striped bunny. She wasn't expecting him here! Though, now that she thought about it… she wasn't sure why she hadn't been.

"Yes, it's me," Jack managed a chuckle, before he hobbled over to Judy on his crutch. Now that Judy looked closer, she could see that his injured leg had been amputated. "And yes I've lost my leg… I don't need it pointed out."

"Noted," Judy said. "Um… so… I guess Lionheart didn't kill you, then?"

"Well I'm standing before you, right?" Jack said. "But you're just in time… Lionheart was going to put me through a type of trial tomorrow. And if I failed, then he'd have me killed."

Judy scratched the back of her neck… did he think she was here to rescue him or something? "Well, I didn't exactly come here for you…" she muttered.

"Ah… I figured…"

"Well, I'm here with Blank… the rogue hyena, remember?"

Jack's eyes narrowed and he grinded his teeth together. "Blank? I thought we put a plan in place to have her captured?" he asked, a clear bite in his tone, but he didn't let out a growl.

"Well, Lionheart _did_ capture her, but she escaped… and she evaded the ZPD too," Judy sighed, understanding his frustration. He had been trying to capture the rogue for nearly as long as she had.

"Why is she here, then? If she had already escaped, that is…" he asked, remaining remarkably calm.

"She's trying to rescue someone… and it's looking like she's going to succeed. If you lay low, you should be able to slip out of this place behind us," Judy said. "And then you'll be free from Lionheart too."

Jack seemed to think for a minute, before nodding his head in understanding. He didn't want to die here… his only chance was to lie low. If he didn't hide well enough, Blank would find and kill him, and if he stayed, then Lionheart would have him killed when he failed the lion's test. He had to break free.

"I found something!" Kat's voice echoed through the underground compound. Judy sent Jack one last smile, before racing towards the sound of the she-wolf's voice. Jack watched Judy run, before slinking back into the room he had appeared from to pack for his departure.

Judy came skidding to a stop next to Blank and Kat, before looking up at the huge steel door in front of them. "This definitely looks like a vault," Blank muttered. She padded over to the door and grabbed ahold of the locking wheel. Kat went to help, adding her strength to the hyena's so they could turn the wheel and unlock the door.

After a lot of grunting and brute force, the two managed to turn the lock enough to open the steel door. The door swung inwards, scraping against the ground as it did. Once the door had been opened, both Blank and Kat rushed inside to see…

A huge, white wolf sitting at a desk. He was pawcuffed there in such a position that he could still use a keyboard and a mouse, but he wouldn't be able to move his arms any further. His legs were just as restrained as his paws, and there were chains keeping his torso in place. Some might consider it overkill… but it was nothing when compared to the muzzle attached to the white wolf's face.

"Wolfgang!" Blank called out as she raced into the room, stopping next to him. He looked up at her as best he could with what little mobility he had. But he was unable to say anything.

The hyena hissed when she realized how well restrained Wolfgang really was. She started with the muzzle, removing it quickly, and tossing it aside. "Blank… I can't believe you actually came for me," he said the moment he was able to, looking up at her with a huge smile.

"Of course I came back for you… how was I supposed to survive in the wild without you?" Blank asked with a smirk, before dropping to her knees and working on his pawcuffs. Her jaws would make quick work of them.

"How indeed?" Wolfgang chuckled as the snapping of chains filled the room. Once he was able to move his arms, it was easy to get the chains off of him, allowing him to stand up. He let out a huge yawn as he immediately stretched all his muscles. "I've been in that chair for over a day now! And I've gotten no sleep and no food… I hope we're planning on stopping somewhere for dinner."

"Maybe… Wolfgang, I have a little job for you," Blank said, gesturing for Judy to bring her the laptop. "I can't leave the city… quite yet…"

"No… no, no, no! You can't stay here!" Wolfgang exclaimed, even as Judy brought Blank the laptop. "You have to abandon this insane quest! We need to leave before Lionheart captures both of us!"

"I'm closer now than I ever have been before!" Blank roared, snapping her jaws together in sheer frustration. "I can't leave. There's only eleven of them left… and the Matriarch too. All I need you to do is locate them!"

"I won't do it. I'm very grateful that you rescued me… but I just can't let you do something so foolish," Wolfgang sighed, shaking his head.

"Why does everyone keep fucking saying that?" Blank hissed. "This isn't foolish, this isn't stupid, this isn't just some mission anymore! You're going to trace this email back to its source, and then I'm going to go and fucking kill them all!" The hyena ripped the laptop out of Judy's paws and opened it to the email that she wanted traced. "Do it, or you can leave the city without me! I will search every inch of this city on foot if you don't!"

Wolfgang continued to glare at her for a few minutes, before letting out a defeated sigh. "You're such a bitch, you know that?" he grumbled as he accepted the laptop and got to work. He wanted more than anything to leave this city with her… and the sooner he could do that, the better. If there really were only a pawful of hyenas left… then Blank would be fine.

"Yeah, I know," Blank managed a chuckle as she leaned against the desk and waited for him to finish his trace. Because she wanted nothing more than to leave the city with him… and the only way she could do that was if she killed the rest of her clan.

XXX

 **Aaaand… Wolfgang's been rescued! He seems to not have noticed Kat yet, though… I bet we'll get a reaction about that next time. And he seems to be bending to Blank's wishes already… hopefully he's right and she'll be fine facing the rest of those hyenas. In any case, we're entering the final stretch. There's about… ten or so more chapters to go. Maybe a bit less. So we're entering the final countdown! Not to mention the fact we've hit 200k words as well!**

 **So, will Wolfy figure out the location of the rest of the hyenas? What will his reaction be to his sister being there to help rescue him? What'll Judy do after she's set free… if she's set free, that is? And what in the heck is Jack going to do? All that and more, next time!**


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37 – Heaven's So Far Away:

Author's Note:

 **Goddamn it's been quite a while, hasn't it? More than a month, I believe. The weeks leading up to finals were tough, finals themselves were tough, and even my first week of break I was fairly busy with family stuff. And I wish I had some good news (besides the fact that I found time to write this chapter at all), but I just have more bad news. I decided to take a few summer classes, so I'll be staying up at my university all summer. I don't have any roommates, so at least I don't have to worry about them, but I do have work to do. So I can't guarantee that posting will return to normal. I'll steal every minute I can to work on DOF and Rache, but I can't promise it'll be a weekly thing… though I am still hoping to finish DOF this summer…**

 **Anyways, with that little announcement out of the way, we can focus back on the story! It's been so long, I've almost forgotten where I wanted this to go… hmm… well, hopefully the chapter doesn't suck and hopefully everything comes back to me! Please, enjoy!**

XXX

"Got it," Wolfgang said, glancing up from the laptop in front of him. It had only taken him a few minutes to run a trace on the email. The programs he needed were already installed on the laptop… it was almost like someone wanted him to find the source of the email.

"Ah, excellent… _where?_ " Blank hissed, though she managed a small smile at Wolfgang, happy that he was complying with her request.

"It was sent from a small building on the south side…" Wolfgang read off the monitor. "342 Spotted Lane. Any idea what's there?"

"I don't exactly have a mental map of the city," Blank grunted. "Pull something up, I don't even know where that is."

"I know where that is," Judy spoke up, her ears falling against the back of her head. She couldn't help the shiver that raced down her spine as she recognized that address. "And I know what's there."

Wolfgang glanced down at the rabbit with a raised eyebrow. He had only barely noticed Judy handing Blank the laptop he was now using, she had stayed fairly silent. "Well? What's there?" he asked a moment later when he realized she wasn't going to continue.

"It's a snake shop. Called _The Pit_ ," Judy sighed, rubbing her temples. "If the email came from there… then that's a big problem."

"I don't care… pull me up a map so I can get there from here," Blank growled, turning back towards Wolfgang. It didn't matter what sort of threat was lurking in that building, it wouldn't stop her.

"You don't understand… you can't go," Judy said, gritting her teeth. The image of that damned snake's eyes were still burned in her mind… she couldn't let Blank fall for them. "That place is harboring dangerous criminals, more than just your hyenas. I can get Bogo to send a detachment… something, anything, to round them up. You and Wolfgang should leave the city."

"That's not an option, Bunny Cop, and you know it. I would think you of all mammals would be able to hear me the best… why does it seem like I'm always repeating myself," Blank sighed. "Map, Wolfgang… _now_."

"Right, here you go," Wolfgang rolled his eyes as he handed the laptop back to her with a map pulled up on it. "But seriously…"

"Cram it," Blank snarled as she shut the device and padded towards the door, her trench coat swishing behind her. "I've finally got them cornered… they're not escaping me again. No matter what tricks they have up their sleeves. You're free to go wherever you want, Judy." And with that declaration, she was gone, leaving Kat, Judy, and Wolfgang alone in the room.

"She seems to be more of a pawful than I remember…" Wolfgang sighed, rubbing his temples as he did. "You know… it was far too easy to trace that email… whatever's waiting for her at _The Pit_ knows she's coming."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you… shouldn't we tell her it's a trap?" Judy asked. Blank was certainly becoming impatient.

"She wouldn't listen," Wolfgang shook his head. "But between you and me, I think you should definitely get the police on the case. If they get there before she does… that would be great… if they don't, then hopefully they can at least save her if it is a trap and she's caught."

"She'll be arrested if she's caught at the scene," Judy muttered. "You won't be able to leave the city with her."

"I know…" Wolfgang sighed, shutting his eyes as he did. "But I have faith that she'll be able to break free if you catch her. The best thing for me to do now is to go and wait for her to come back."

"I won't be able to help her… I don't _want_ to help her again," Judy said. "She needs to face justice for her crimes."

"I'm sure that'll go over well," Wolfgang rolled his eyes as he stood up from his chair. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck before continuing. "We need to get out of here, though."

"Roger that," Judy nodded, spinning around on her heel. She spotted Kat standing at the doorway to the vault, practically trembling. She was muttering to herself, seemingly in a heated debate with her other personality.

"Katherine?" Wolfgang asked when he too finally turned around to see his sister at the exit to the room. _How had I not noticed her?_ he wondered, his eyes widening slightly.

"B-brother!" Kat… or rather, Katherine wailed as she dropped her bow and rushed towards her sibling. She leapt into his arms, wrapping hers around him to give him a hug. Wolfgang returned the embrace, though he was still shocked to see her here.

"Katherine… you came back for me…" the younger white wolf muttered as Katherine sobbed against his chest. He couldn't believe she had actually responded to Katherine… it had been so long since she had done so.

"I'm so sorry! It was all Kat's fault! She was… under the control of Lionheart for so long! She… she did things I don't even want to speak of! She captured… you… our brother… I'm so sorry!" Katherine babbled, tears leaking from her eyes.

"You're… finally free…" Wolfgang said, a grin spreading across his face as he hugged Katherine even harder. "I can't believe…"

"Blank did it… she freed me from Lionheart… and from Kat," Katherine smiled up at her brother. "I want you to take me with you!"

"Of course we'll take you with us!" Wolfgang nodded, lifting his sister up a bit, before setting her back down on the ground. He wriggled free from her arms and picked her bow up off the ground. "There's no way I'm leaving this city without either you or Blank."

"Oh… that's good," Katherine said, her voice changing pitch and a wide smirk spreading across her lips. "I hope you're not forgetting about me, though."

"I had," Wolfgang admitted with a growl. It was clear by the tone of her voice that this was no longer Katherine. "I had hoped you were gone."

"Nope!" Kat giggled in a sing-song way. "I'm just not in full control anymore… but don't think that means I won't be popping up every now and again. Blank and I made a deal, you know."

"A deal?" Wolfgang asked, narrowing his eyes. That didn't sound good.

"Oh yes! Why do you think I helped rescue you? Do you really think the other one would have been any use in a fight?" Kat snickered again. "You're going to need my help if you're going to survive in the wild. So don't think you can lock me up or tie me down whenever I manage to gain control!"

"You're just lucky there's no cure for DID," Wolfgang hissed. "You're just an invasive monster, no one wants you around. Now give me my sister back!"

"Rude," Kat huffed as she snatched the bow from Wolfgang's paws. "And I don't think I will. Someone needs to get you and the Bunny Cop out of this dump, and both of you are unarmed. Katherine certainly can't shoot for shit."

Wolfgang could only grind his teeth together as Kat took the lead, nocking an arrow as she did. He and Judy followed behind her, their eyes carefully scanning the hallways for hostiles. But they were seemingly alone in the underground bunker. Blank had gone off on her own somewhere, and only Judy knew that Jack was still lurking around the bunker.

She had told him to come with her, but was now thinking that it was a bad idea. She wasn't sure what Kat would do to the injured buck. But as they made it back towards the elevator, Judy figured that Jack must've left earlier. Which was definitely the smart move… though she hoped he didn't run into Blank as he did.

Kat hit the button and the elevator doors closed. It only took a few seconds for the doors to open again, this time back in Lionheart's office. "He's gone," Kat snarled as she saw the mayor's desk, finding it completely empty. There were bloodstains leftover from where Lionheart had been shot and stabbed, and there was a gouge in the desk itself, but the lion was gone.

"Goddamn it," Kat hissed as she raced towards the door, hoping that Lionheart had only just started to limp away.

"I guess this is where we part ways, Judy," Wolfgang said, looking down at the little bunny. "If everything goes according to plan, hopefully this is the last time you'll see both me and Blank."

"Goodbye, Wolfgang," Judy said as the white wolf raced after his sister, equally as invested as she was in catching Lionheart. But Judy had a feeling the mayor had made a clean getaway, and they wouldn't be able to track him down without being exposed.

The bunny let out a sigh of relief, finally free of Blank. She still wanted to bring the hyena to justice for all the officers she had killed… but as long as Blank got the hell out of Zootopia, then it would be the next best thing. At least then she wouldn't be able to kill anyone else. And so, with her ears standing tall on her head, Judy made her way towards Precinct One to inform Bogo of the situation, and to hopefully convince him to finally go after Reaper and Dr. Tavi. They needed to be brought to justice as well.

XXX

Blank padded through the halls, checking every single room that she found. Her memory of this place was fuzzy, as she had only been here twice. Once when she was a cub and once only a day ago, but she had not been allowed to explore. She carried the laptop Wolfgang pulled a map onto under one arm, holding it against her side as if her life depended on it.

She wanted nothing more than to just charge straight towards the maw of her enemy… but she had used up all her ammo killing Lionheart's scientists. She needed more weapons, and she knew that there was an armory around here somewhere. Filled with the absolute best weapons a girl like her could dream of. All she had to do was find it.

She turned a few more corners and checked several more rooms before finally finding the armory. And it was a sight of pure beauty. Like a supermarket, there were rows upon rows upon rows of shelves, stocked to the brim with different weapons. They were categorized by type and age, which would make shopping easier for her.

Blank perused down the aisles, moving as quickly as she could. She wanted to collect her gear and mount an assault on _The Pit_ as soon as possible. She had no idea what sort of defenses she'd be up against, but she would arm herself with everything she could possibly need. Shotguns, pistols, grenades of all different kinds she quickly found and attached to herself.

All that was left was to find a primary weapon. In a mid to long range fight, she would've taken an assault rifle of some kind, but since she would be fighting inside, with close to mid ranges… there was really only one weapon she could use. _My M60,_ she snickered to herself as she turned and headed towards a rack that looked like it was for light machineguns.

Lionheart had implied that one of his teams had recovered her M60 and stored it somewhere. He made it seem like he would give it back to her after she got a new chip implanted, but things hadn't exactly worked out in his favor. If Lionheart really _did_ recover her M60, it only made sense to store it here.

She found the aisle for light machine guns and began searching for her M60, but the longer she searched, the more and more frustrated she became. It wasn't here… or at the very least, it wasn't stored here. After reaching the end of the aisle, she slammed her fist against the side of the rack, causing a loud _bang_ to echo through the room.

Sure, any one of the LMGs behind her could do the job… but she wanted _her_ M60. She had carried it into dozens of battles and skirmishes, it always came through for her. And in her hour of complete victory over the Matriarch… she wanted _her_ M60 to strike the killing blow.

"Looking for something?" a male voice caught her attention, causing to whirl around, drawing Wolfgang's Desert Eagle from one of her holsters. She vaguely realized that she had forgotten to return it to him, but figured the massive handcannon could be useful enough during her final battle that she should hold on to it anyways. He'd be getting it back when she was done.

Behind her was a small, one-legged rabbit leaning on a crutch. He was glaring up at her without a hint of fear in his eyes or voice, despite the weapon she was pointing at him. Behind him was her M60… how he had managed to sneak up on her while carrying something that large and heavy _while_ only having one leg was a complete mystery to her.

"I am actually," Blank hissed, not lowering her firearm. She could see her weapon behind him… he must've been the one to recover it. She remembered the rabbit, she remembered that Wolfgang had practically blown his leg off. "And you seem to have it."

"The Boss had it hidden away where you wouldn't be able to steal it… like you're trying to do now," the rabbit said, sitting down and leaning back against the light machine gun.

"Well it is _mine_ ," Blank growled. "And since I was in the neighborhood, I figured I'd pick it up before I headed off."

"I figured," he nodded.

"Then give it to me," she replied immediately, gesturing with her gun for him to move.

The rabbit paused, glancing away from Blank for a moment. The seconds ticked by with the hyena becoming more and more impatient, before finally he responded. "Is the Big Boss dead?" he asked.

"No… not yet," she shook her head. She had a feeling Lionheart had managed to escape.

The rabbit looked disappointed in that answer, his ears falling flat against his back. "It's so hard to even say his name… even though my chip was fried… it's just so _ingrained_ that I can't imagine calling him anything else," he muttered.

"I know exactly what you mean… I struggled with that as well when I was first freed," Blank nodded, instinctively reaching up to touch where her chip was still implanted in her head.

"It's not the only challenge, though… I just… can't stop thinking about all the things I did for _him_ ," the rabbit said. "How much of that was the chip? How much of that did I do without needing it?"

Blank remained silent as the rabbit shook his head. Slowly, she put Wolfgang's Desert Eagle back into its holster… the bunny was unarmed, and it didn't look like he'd be able to use her M60 at all. He just wanted to talk, it seemed.

"You trick yourself… or at least, I did. I didn't think anything of it while I was under _his_ control… the chip just… suppresses everything. But when I was first freed… the subsequent shock as you realize what you've done hit me all at once. I couldn't deal with it… my mind… it just wasn't strong enough," the rabbit said. "But the longer I sit in this hellhole, the more I realize… the chip wasn't _controlling_ me. What I did… what _all of us_ have done…"

"It's hard to rationalize… I know," Blank said, finally cutting in when he trailed off. "The chips make us sane enough to follow orders and the training never instills in us what it means to rebel. We never get the chance to choose otherwise."

"But when freed… it's such an intense rush of new feelings and thoughts that you can't stop yourself from wondering 'why didn't I say no?'"

"We didn't know we could."

"But still… the chip isn't for brainwashing. It's for suppressing our… irregularities and our emotions. The way we were trained… _that_ was our brainwashing. So intense and thorough that I still can't say _his_ name."

"It's a way to keep us under control if the chips suddenly stop working… the longer they're off, the more we start to remember… the freer we become. _Lionheart_. See? I can say his name… it's only a matter of time before you can too."

The rabbit looked up with a soft chuckle. "It's that simple, huh? _Just wait, you'll see_. It's taking every fiber of my being to disobey his orders and not at least attempt to kill you," he said. "Somehow it feels like I need to do more than just… _wait._ I lost my leg… I lost my chip… _he_ was going to have me killed… and all I can do is agree with his decision!"

"I'm leaving. That's what I'm doing… that's my something more. I'm doing one last mission… not for Lionheart, but for myself, and then I'm leaving this city forever," Blank said. "If that's what you think you need, then you need to find your something more too."

"One last mission for yourself, huh? That doesn't sound… like a half bad idea," the rabbit muttered, a small smirk spreading across his face. "Yes… something more… something… something more than just waiting. I think I know what I'm going to do."

"Not coming with me, I hope," Blank managed her own smirk.

"Of course not," he shook his head. "But I do think I have something special for… for Lionheart. Something special indeed."

Blank couldn't help the cackle that escaped her lips. "Well I'm not going to stand in the way of any surprises you send his way… are you going to let me take my M60?" she asked, gesturing towards her weapon.

The rabbit didn't respond, rather, he grabbed his crutch and moved out of the way, letting her step forward and bend over to pick the heavy weapon up. She shouldered the M60, before padding towards the exit, but paused before leaving. "I should apologize about how we got off on the wrong paw, J-" she started, before being cut off.

"I have a real name now… call me Jack, Blank," the rabbit said, sounding quite proud of his name. A real name… not just a letter.

"Very well, then, Jack… I'm sorry for having your leg blown off and killing your team, but from one mammal one a mission to another… I wish you good luck," Blank finished, before trotting away, lugging her M60 with her.

XXX

 **Ah… damn, yeah, I went home this weekend, but I still can't find my outline. Hopefully this is at least in the ballpark of what I was thinking of when I wrote my outline. I'm not incredibly satisfied with this chapter, and not just because I've made you all wait over a month for this and it's not perfect, I finished this in the very early hours of the morning and I didn't have time to get it beta-ed. I did edit myself, but I can't catch everything… and I'm** _ **still**_ **not satisfied with how Blank and Jack's dialogue turned out. I had this entire conversation in my head when I started the chapter, but I lost it over the week while I was working. Shows me for not writing it all down immediately.**

 **Anyways… if I do happen to find my outline, and if this chapter turns out even worse after reading what I have there, then I'll probably redo it. If not, then hopefully I won't make you all wait an entire month before the next chapter comes out. Stay tuned, though, to see what happens next!**


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38 – The Red:

Author's Note:

 **Jesus… I should probably just give up on trying to get a chapter out every other week. It's clear this is going to be a monthly thing, so that's what I'm going to shoot for. But hopefully, even with a chapter coming out every month, the story should be done by the end of the year. I'm hoping, at least.**

 **USA Patriot, it's been awhile! Yes, I think you should trust your sneaking suspicions on Judy and Blank. As for your M60 comments, I didn't have the time to research as much as I wanted to (since every time I set out to do research on firearms, I end up watching YouTube for two hours), but I went with LMG because it was classified as that in Ghost Recon Wildlands and that was the most recent shooter I played. So I went with that.**

 **Anyways, we're starting off with Judy this chapter, but don't worry, we're finally reaching the climax of the story. The real climax! I know there's been a few climaxes, but if you split the story into arcs, then the climax that occurs in this chapter could be considered both this arc's climax and the story's climax. Boy, I haven't said 'climax' this many times before. Weird. Before I say the usual thing I say… I'd like to thank All Hail King Scar for helping me write one of the scenes! Without his/her help, I wouldn't have been able to get this chapter out this week! Please, enjoy!**

XXX

Nighttime was a strange time in Zootopia. It was easy to say the city never slept, since when the sun went down, the nocturnal mammals came out into the open. Rats, possums, weasels, all sorts of shady mammals that did their work in the dark. Calling them all criminals was definitely unfair… but they weren't all saints, that was for sure.

It happened to be past midnight by the time Judy, Wolfgang, and Kat made it out of the mayor's office. Lionheart was still nowhere to be found, and neither of them were keen on trying to find a lion in the darkness. Kat and Wolfgang stuck together, heading back towards their parents' mansion, leaving Judy alone.

The little rabbit pondered her best course of action. She didn't have any form of transportation or any money, so she couldn't call for a cab. She did have her uniform, her badge, and her gun, at least. Though what use they would do for her, she wasn't sure. It was far too late at night to go back to the precinct.

Precinct One operated almost entirely on daylight hours, especially since most of the mammals that were assigned there weren't nocturnal. Not even Bogo would be at the precinct this late… he was probably back at his home, already fast asleep. Whatever plans Judy had of rallying her comrades in blue and going after Blank and Reaper were pretty much shot.

She could take a chance and try and ask Precinct Two for help. Precinct Two was the nearest precinct to Precinct One and operated on nighttime hours. It was pretty simple to remember, odd number precincts were daylight, even numbers were nocturnal. Judy wasn't sure, however, if she would be able to convince anyone to lend her a paw. As far as she knew, the nocturnal squads weren't informed hardly at all about what had been going on in the city concerning Blank and the mercenary hyenas.

Her best bet was probably just to head back to her apartment and go to bed. She would arrive early the next morning and prepare a squad before Bogo arrived and said no, and then would go and see if Blank had attacked _The Pit_ yet. If she was lucky, she would arrive just as Blank was finishing up. If she was unlucky, then at least Blank would be gone.

She took two steps towards her apartment before pausing. In all this excitement, she had practically forgotten that she had moved into Nick's place. _Nick…_ she muttered internally. He was still in the hospital from the bite he had suffered from Reaper. Deciding that going home to an empty apartment wasn't worth it, she turned on her heel and headed towards the hospital.

It was a short, quiet walk. The hospital wasn't too far away from City Hall, and while she was wearing her uniform, no one would dare mess with her. Not with the firearm by her side. Even if she would never use it… the thugs that no doubt populated the city's streets at night didn't know that.

Judy padded into the hospital, her head held high. The only thing she knew about Nick's condition was that they had administered anti-venom to him. The doctors had assured her that he was fine, but she hadn't had the time to worry about him as of late. But now that she was actually in the hospital, it took all her might not to hang her head, her ears flopping down her back, and let her steps be slow and hesitant, worry consuming her.

She headed straight towards the main desk, where a lioness in a nurse's uniform was busy on a computer. The main floor was fairly empty at this time of night, though there was a small family of oxen sitting on some chairs near the back wall. Judy couldn't tell why they were here, but considering that the oldest female in the group was just a teenager, she assumed that the mother had either been seriously hurt, or was in the middle of giving birth.

Judy came to a stop in front of the front desk and cleared her throat loudly, trying to catch the lioness' attention. The lioness looked away from her computer, before leaning over the desk so she could look down at the rabbit. Judy resisted the urge to tap her foot impatiently as she stared up at the lioness, waiting for her to say something.

"Officer Hopps," the lioness eventually said, recognizing the fairly famous bunny officer. "Visiting hours are over, I'm afraid."

"Visiting hours? Does that mean officer Wilde is in a condition where he can accept visitors?" Judy asked, brightening up a little bit.

"Yes, officer Wilde is in a stable condition," the lioness nodded. "The anti-venom is doing its job, but he hasn't woken up yet."

"So he's in a coma?" Judy asked, her eyes widening slightly.

"A minor one. The doctors think he'll be awake within the next few days," the lioness said.

Judy let out a sigh of relief. At least there was that. "I need to see him," she said. "What room is he in?"

"Visiting hours-"

"Are over, I know. I don't care… let me see him."

"I'm afraid-"

"Let. Me. See. My. Partner," Judy ordered, glaring up at the lioness. After being kidnapped by Blank and forced to watch as she killed dozens of other mammals, rendering the bunny cop completely powerless to stop her, there was no way Judy was going to be stymied by a nurse sitting at a desk.

The lioness flinched slightly. She had to deal with mammals wanting to see patients past visiting hours all the time… but none had such a commanding tone as officer Hopps. It caught the lioness off balance enough that she ended up caving. "Fine… he's in room 406," she sighed as she sat back down.

"Thanks you," Judy replied tartly, before padding down the hall without looking back. She made her way towards an elevator, and leapt into the air, slamming one of her paws onto the up buttons.

The elevator took a few minutes to arrive, and when it did, Judy boarded it. Once again, she had to jump into the air to hit the button labeled four. The elevator ride was thankfully short, a soft ding telling her when she arrived on the proper floor. The doors opened, and she stepped out into the hallway.

Room 406 wasn't too far away from the elevator. Her feet were nearly completely silent against the bright white tiles. Everything in the hospital was white. The floor, the walls, the ceiling. It inspired a sense of sterility and calmness. But Judy was anything but calm as she came to a stop in front of the room Nick was staying in.

She wasn't entirely sure how she was going to react to Nick being in what the nurse at the front desk had called a 'minor coma.' A minor coma was still a coma. I should've been by his side all day, she grumbled internally. The door to Nick's room was cracked open, but she didn't move to open the door.

"Judy!" a voice pierced through the bunny cop's train of thought. Judy blinked a few times, her ears popping back upwards to stand tall on her head. She recognized that voice…

She turned her head to see Charlotte and Wolfard making their way down the hall towards her. Wolfard was looking a bit worse for wear, as he still had a few bandages around his head from where Blank had hit him, but he was up and walking around. Charlotte was looking marginally better, though her arm was still in a cast.

"Hey guys," Judy said, turning around to face them, managing a small smile. She had nearly forgotten that they were still injured… though she wouldn't dare tell them.

"Hey yourself," Charlotte grinned as she came to a stop, Wolfard leaning a bit on her. "What are you doing here? Come to visit us, finally?"

"Wha? I visited you… once," Judy huffed, already feeling a bit better, though she knew once she opened the door and saw Nick's condition, that feeling would vanish.

"Yeah, once," Charlotte rolled her eyes. "But if you're here to see us, you're a bit too late. Gray's just been released."

"Really? Good for him," Judy said, glancing over at the timber wolf who definitely didn't look happy to be released. "I'm guessing neither of you are ready to head back to work, though."

"Oh absolutely not… I'm taking at least another few days, and Gray isn't going anywhere near the station for at least two more weeks," Charlotte shook her head. "And even when we do go back…"

"Desk work?" Judy asked with a smirk.

"Desk work…" Charlotte sighed. "It could be worse, though, I suppose… Bogo could fire us."

"You guys were injured in the line of duty, I'm positive Bogo wouldn't fire you," Judy chuckled. "Anyways… I'm not actually here to see you two. I'm here for Nick."

"Nick?" Wolfard asked, finally speaking up. "Why is Nick here? What happened to him?"

"It's a bit of a long story," Judy sighed, scratching the back of her head. "But he was bitten by a snake."

"A snake?!" Charlotte exclaimed, her eyes widening. "How in the fucking hell did he get bitten by a snake?"

"Remember that Rodentia case Nick and I were working on before Blank showed up?" Judy asked. "Yeah, well… the perp was a snake. A big one too."

"And poisonous, I'm guessing?" Wolfard said.

"Very," Judy nodded solemnly. "I have no idea… how close Nick was to dying. I had to carry him out of the building and to his car… and drive him to the hospital… before carrying him inside."

"You carried him?" Charlotte asked, flicking an ear.

"Adrenaline, I suppose, played a major role," the rabbit replied.

"Damn…" the arctic wolf muttered. "Please tell me that you at least managed to get the snake."

Judy bit her lip and frowned even more. "No… no, I had to rush Nick to the hospital… and when I got back to the precinct, Bogo came back and took back control, disbanding the task force I had established," she said.

"Took back control? Where did Bogo go?" Charlotte asked, shivering slightly at the idea that there was still a snake on the loose.

"Well… Blank sorta… shot Bogo…" Judy explained, her ears flopping down her back. "Blank's gone on a bit of a rampage after you two were hospitalized."

"Oh shit… how much have we missed?" Wolfard asked.

"She was pretty careful when she attacked you guys… she only hospitalized you… but she's been killing officers recently," Judy grumbled. "She's been leaving bodies all over the city… not all of them just cops."

"Fuck," Charlotte hissed. The first thought that flew through her mind was intense rage. How dare that bitch kill her fellow officers! The second thought, however, was a more… reasonable reaction. She was almost happy she had been in the hospital… a broken arm was better than being dead.

"Indeed… that's why Bogo took over my strike team. He wanted everyone to go and get Blank," Judy explained.

"Did you, uh… actually get her?" Charlotte asked, looking a bit hopeful.

"We've tried multiple times to capture her… every time she escaped," Judy shook her head, deciding not to tell the wolves about being captured. "This time was no different."

"So she's still out there?" Wolfard asked.

"… Unfortunately…" Judy admitted. "Look, I really don't want to talk about work anymore. I just want to see Nick…"

"Sorry for upsetting you, Judy," Charlotte muttered. "But we're just worried about what had happened while we were here."

"I'd be more than willing to catch you up on everything that's happened… later. Right now…" Judy trailed off.

"You want to see your boyfriend, I get it," Charlotte nodded. "We'll go now. See you later."

Judy remained silent as the two wolves padded away, heading towards the elevator. The bunny let out a sigh, her good mood already gone. But she turned back towards room 406 and pushed the door open without hesitation.

The door swung open to reveal a small room with just one bed in it. A tangle of cords and IV's hung around the bed, with a wheeled stand off to the side. Nick was laying on the bed, his eyes closed and his head gently resting against a pillow. A heart rate monitor beeped slowly and constantly nearby, its periodic noises settling over the small room.

Judy stepped a little closer towards the bed, a heavy frown on her face. There were bandages wrapped around the fox's neck, covering the spot where the cobra had bitten him. Like the nurse had said, he was currently stable and sleeping soundly. If it wasn't for the IV, the bandages, and the fact he was in the hospital… Judy would say he looked fine.

But she knew he wasn't fine. She had no idea how close he had been to dying. With what little research she had been able to do about King Cobras, she knew their venom was incredibly deadly. Nick was lucky, but Judy still felt awful. Awful… and angry.

She had no idea how Reaper was able to do the things that he did… but she wasn't going to let that snake hurt anyone else. Seeing Nick in his hospital bed made Judy's blood boil. No one deserved to go through this kind of pain. She could only imagine how much Nick was hurting.

"I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt by that… bastard," Judy growled as she padded over to the side of the bed and gently grabbed Nick's arm. "I promise that I'll bring him to justice… just like I would any other criminal."

She didn't want to think about what bringing Reaper to justice meant. For all she knew, the law wasn't going to be able to handle an intelligent serpent. The court may just order Reaper executed. Though it wasn't he didn't deserve it…

The rabbit let out a heavy sigh as she turned around to head out of the room. She made it to the door, before pausing. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to sleep tonight without Nick being by her side. For the past few days they had been sleeping next to each other… and it was surprisingly comfortable.

There was no way she'd be able to go back to their apartment… alone. So she simply shut the door, and padded back over to Nick's bed. She'd stay the night here… and head over to the precinct in the morning. To talk some sense into Bogo.

XXX

Blank slammed on the brakes, causing the car she was driving to screech to a halt, skidding across the blacktop as it did. She had stolen a car that had been parked on the side of the street near City Hall. She hadn't decided yet if she was going to return it or not, but she definitely didn't want to lug the heavy weapons she had gathered all the way to _The Pit._

The moon was still high in the sky and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Despite the darkness, Blank's night vision made it so she could see just fine. There were no streetlights near _The Pit_ and the building was dark. Blank doubted it meant everyone inside was asleep, but she approached the building directly.

She didn't feel like wasting time with stealth. She had few opponents left, and she was so heavily armed that she didn't feel the need to be cautious. She just wanted this to be over as quickly as possible, so she could leave the city with Wolfgang and his sister. _That_ was her mission now.

No longer was she motivated by just killing what remained of her clan and protecting the city. Now she was motivated by leaving. And the few hyenas left were just an obstacle in her way to freedom.

She padded closer to the building, but stopped a good few meters away. She pulled a grenade from her belt and armed it, before throwing it through the glass door of the building. The room was dark, she couldn't quite make out any shapes inside, but the grenade would hopefully kill a few of them, and in the panic that ensued, she'd be able to pick them off cleanly.

The grenade smashed through the glass door, and exploded a few moments later. The blast caused the rest of the windows of the place to shatter as a small fire swept through the building. The fire illuminated the room, allowing Blank to see that there was no one there. No one taking cover, no one burnt to a crisp… not even body parts that had been scattered by the explosion.

Blank let out a hiss of frustration as she readied her M60 and charged into the building. The combat boots Lionheart had given her provided adequate protection against the glass that littered the ground. The flames had dimmed just enough to where it was safe for her to enter, but they hadn't extinguished, so she could still see the room. "Fuck," Blank snarled, believing for a moment that she had been duped.

She seriously considered just… giving up. Perhaps this crusade just… wasn't worth it. But she hesitated in walking away. She had always had trouble giving up… she was used to fighting it out until the bitter end. She was just… stubborn.

In her hesitation to turn around and walk away, however, she spotted a door out of the corner of her eye. The door was untainted by the fire, as it had been against the back wall of the building, away from the initial blast of the grenade. A few scratches marred its frame, but it was otherwise intact. Figuring she had nothing to lose, Blank padded towards the door.

It looked pretty sturdy, so she didn't bother trying to kick it down. She tried the handle, and sure enough, it was unlocked. She started to swing the door inwards… but the tiniest of _clicks_ brought her pause. Time seemed to slow down as she flinched backwards, just in time for an ax to come swinging into the spot where she had just been standing.

It swing horizontally, clearly intended to bisect her, but the doorframe brought the ax head to a stop before it ever reached her. _A boobytrap,_ Blank hissed internally as she held up her M60 with one arm and grabbed the ax with the other. She ripped the ax out of the harness that kept it attached to the arm that swung it, before padding down the small set of stairs and into the main room of _The Pit_.

 _This must be the place,_ Blank smirked as she surveyed the area. The lights were all out, but the fire from the front room gave Blank enough light to see. She couldn't find any of her hyena opponents and assumed they must all be hiding from her. She could see, however, a lot of snakes. They were in glass cages raised off the ground on metal legs. The cages were littered all over the room, seemingly at random, but the very largest cage was at the very back. And next to the cage… was what Blank thought could be a mongoose.

"Hey you!" Blank called out as she made it to the bottom of the stairs, pointing the ax at the mongoose. She had no idea who the mongoose was, but judging by the booby trap, she was definitely in the right place. "Where are they?!"

The mongoose didn't respond verbally. Rather, he snapped his fingers as loudly as he could. The lights came on, causing Blank to flinch slightly, narrowing her eyes to prevent them from being damaged by the rapid change of brightness. But she didn't just stand still.

Realizing the danger she was in, Blank ducked and rolled forward. Nearly a dozen clicks of safeties echoed through the room, before the sound of guns firing became deafening. The hyenas Blank had been hunting had been hiding in the darkest corners of the room, waiting for the signal to attack.

Blank had realized that she had walked into a trap long before the lights went on, however. She had plenty of time to roll out of the way. She knocked over one of the glass cages, causing the glass to shatter when it hit the ground. Snakes scattered across the floor, but the bottom of the cage was made of steel, which would provide her with adequate cover.

The snakes that had been freed hissed in displeasure as they began slithering away, more than a few of them dying when they were struck by stray bullets. Blank however, remained almost completely safe. The steel bottom of the cage was stopping the small caliber rounds without any issues. It was only a matter of time until they ran out of bullets.

The moment bullets stopped whizzing through the air, Blank stood up and, with all her might, lobbed the ax she had 'borrowed' straight at the nearest hyena. The ax tumbled end over end, but flew true, the blade lodging itself right between the enemy hyena's eyes. She stumbled backwards, her body hitting a nearby wall as blood and brain matter seeped out of the wound in her head, before she collapsed onto the floor.

Blank didn't let up however, as the hyenas began diving into cover and knocking over more of the glass cages to use the bottoms as shields. She brought her M60 to bear on a few that were just too slow and began opening up on them. The M60's bullets were moving fast enough and were heavy enough that they ripped through the three hyenas' bodies.

Blood and intestines splattered across the walls and floor as three hyenas were caught out in the open and ripped to pieces by the machinegun. Blank quickly turned towards a barricade close to her and began the process of tearing it apart with her M60. The steel bottoms of the cages provided protection against the hyenas' small submachinegun rounds and pistol rounds, but against the ferocity of the M60, it stood no chance.

It only took a few seconds for the machinegun to smash through the bottom of the cage and tear through the hyena cowering behind it. Blank frowned as she didn't recognize the mangled corpse her M60 left behind. It wasn't the Matriarch. None of the hyenas the rogue had killed so far had been the Matriarch. This wouldn't end until _she_ was dead.

Before Blank could turn her attention elsewhere, however, the lights flicked off, and she was plunged back into darkness. Thinking quickly, she dropped back down into cover, expecting the living hyenas to have reloaded by now. The fire in the front room had dimmed so much that it no longer provided her the light she needed to see.

Options ran through her mind. She was still outmanned, but she wasn't outgunned. Her opponents likely reloaded already, and were probably getting ready to flank her. She was probably already surrounded. The only thing that she could be sure of was that they were just as blind as she was.

But that presented a problem in her mind. Even if they were blind, they knew where she was. They could likely creep through the darkness, surround her, and pounce just as the lights went back on. She briefly considered moving, until realizing that she couldn't afford to. She needed to stay by the door, just in case they tried to run away. She couldn't risk losing them again.

Which meant she had to strike first. She reached down and pulled another grenade from her belt. From the way it was shaped, she could tell it was a flashbang. Just what she needed in the dark room. She pulled the pin, before tossing it out from behind her cover.

It only took a few seconds before the flashbang to go off, and sure enough, one of the hyenas let out a scream of pain. The flash of light hurt much more in the pitch black room, and the shrieking sound the grenade let out only compounded that pain.

Blank rose from cover, estimated the position the scream came from, and began firing. Bloody squelches and continued screaming informed her that she had hit her mark. She kept firing until the hyena screamed no more, but by that time, her M60 had run out of ammo. She wasn't sure if she could afford the time it took to reload the machinegun, so she tossed it aside and reached back on her belt.

She still couldn't see, but that didn't mean she didn't have a means of creating light. She still had an incendiary grenade left. She armed the grenade before lobbing it towards one of the walls of the room. She was positive she had seen some of the hyenas hunker down in that direction. Even if she missed, the grenade would provide her with a bit of light.

The grenade hit something and exploded, lighting the area it hit on fire. Blank couldn't help the grin on her face when she saw two of her adversaries let out screams as the flames consumed them. They began rolling across the floor, trying to put out the fire, but they only succeeded in rolling out of cover.

Blank pulled the M16 off her back and fired a few rounds on semi-auto at the burning bodies. The bullets hit their marks, slamming into the backs of their skulls, ending their struggles and allowing the fire to consume them peacefully. There didn't seem to be any type of fire alarm, nor any sprinkler system in place.

The fire consumed not just the hyenas, but had spread across the wall, and even began consuming some of the nearby snakes. A red glow bathed the previously pitch black room, allowing Blank to see that the rest of her opponents were better at hiding than she thought. She couldn't see them… but it wasn't her immediate concern.

A loud hissing and rattling sound drew her attention to her left. A rather large snake coiled in an aggressive position, shaking its tail menacingly. Blank didn't know what kind of snake it was, but she wasn't about to hang around and see if it was venomous or not. She rolled away from the snake, right before it lunged forward.

The snake missed, and Blank hopped up onto her feet, brought her M16 to bear, and pumped a few rounds into the annoyance. The rattling was cut short as the serpent crumpled from the bullets. But that one snake wasn't her only problem.

The fire had startled and scared all the snakes that had been broken out of their cages, and had huddled against the wall Blank had thrown the grenade at. The snakes that hadn't been burned were racing towards safety in a huge wave of slithering and hissing death. All of them heading straight towards Blank herself.

Letting out a curse, Blank pointed her assault rifle at the mass of snakes approaching her, switched the weapon to full auto, and began unloading her magazine at the swarm. The bullets tore through the serpents, but there were so many of them. She emptied her first mag, before quickly reloading and continuing the assault.

In the end, she ran through all three of her backup magazines, but the wall of snakes had been eradicated. Letting out a frustrated growl, she tossed her M16 aside and reached for the shotgun she had strapped to her back. Just as she was reaching for it, however, a scream drew her attention behind her.

One of the Matriarch's personal guard had pulled out a knife and was trying to close the distance. _Where the hell is the Matriarch?_ Blank wondered internally as she pulled the shotgun from her back and put a baseball sized hole through the charging hyena's chest. The hyena let out a gurgled cry, before collapsing onto the floor.

Blank pumped another shot into her head, just to be safe, however. The fire was still burning nicely, the red glow giving the rogue hyena plenty of light to see. She waited a few seconds, before pumping the shotgun with a sigh. She figured she'd have to go hunting for the remaining hyenas herself.

She took a few cautious steps away from her cover, before heading towards the one corner of the room she couldn't see very well, even with the fire. They had to be somewhere over there. She only made it a meter away from her cover, however, before the lights turned back on.

Once again, she couldn't stop herself from flinching. But this time, she wasn't able to dodge quick enough. Instead of a maelstrom of bullets, an enormous hyena appeared at the edge of her vision, and threw a fist at her head. Blank didn't have time to react as the Matriarch struck her in the face, knocking her off her feet, and forcing her to drop her shotgun.

Blank rolled as she hit the ground, before popping back up to her feet in time to block another punch thrown by the larger hyena. The force of the blow pushed her backwards, but she managed to stay on her feet. "There you are, _mother_ ," the rogue hyena hissed as she counterattacked.

The Matriarch blocked and backed up a few steps as Blank hit her with ferocious strength. During their previous encounter, Blank had been dealing with the downsides of the Hercules Serum, but now she was at full strength. Although the Matriarch was still quite a bit stronger than the rogue, Blank had pure ferocity on her side.

The two hyenas exchanged blows, shoving each other backwards with each successful strike. The larger of the two hyenas was clearly hitting harder, staggering the smaller with each punch, but the smaller never backed down, blocking and counterattacking when she could. Eventually, the Matriarch overextended herself.

She waived off a right hook from her daughter, before attempting a vicious uppercut. Blank hopped backwards, dodging the attack, before racing forwards with another right hook aimed directly at the larger hyena's face. The Matriarch barely had enough time to block, but was forced to use both her arms to stop the blow. Which meant Blank's left paw had all the time in the world to punch her mother in the gut.

The larger hyena doubled over in pain, but Blank didn't relent. She went to town on the Matriarch's crumpled form. Uppercuts, left hooks, right hooks, punches from every direction rained down on the larger hyena. Blank's punches increased in strength and speed as she realized she finally had the upper paw. This was revenge for their previous bout, where the Matriarch had humiliated her weakened, tired body.

It was all the Matriarch could do to protect her face, giving the smaller hyena free reign on her stomach and chest. The Matriarch hacked and coughed, unable to take the punishment her daughter was dishing out. But, just as Blank pulled back her left fist to gather the necessary momentum to shatter the larger hyena's guard, the Matriarch recovered enough to kick at her daughter.

Blank didn't falter, however, and reacted accordingly. She blocked the kick with her free paw, before pushing the Matriarch's leg upwards, unbalancing her. Then it was as simple as sweeping the larger hyena's legs out from underneath her body, causing the Matriarch to topple to the ground. Blank was fast in pinning her mother, her paws doing their best to restrain the Matriarch's arms.

The larger hyena hissed in frustration as Blank bared her teeth and went for the kill. The Matriarch's life flashed before her eyes, Blank basked in the fear she could smell coming off her mother in waves. But she never got to land the killing blow. The Matriarch freed one of her arms and shielded her neck.

Blank latched onto the Matriarch's arm, however, and with her bone-crushing bite, shattered it. The Matriarch let out a roar of pain and anguish, before managing to get her feet underneath Blank, and kick the smaller hyena away. Blank didn't go without a little souvenir, however, as she tore a chunk of her mother's flesh off when she was kicked away.

Blank stood up and spat out the hunk of skin and muscle she had torn from her mother. It wasn't a crippling blow, but the Matriarch wouldn't be able to use one of her arms for the rest of the fight, giving the advantage to the rogue. The Matriarch stood up, a snarl evident on her muzzle, as she held her bleeding, broken arm.

Blood dribbled from Blank's lips as an enormous grin spread across her face. "I'm tired of just playing around, _mother,_ " she hissed as she drew one of the pistols at her side. She had proven she could beat her mother in paw-to-paw combat, and if the fight was to continue, Blank would no doubt win. But the rogue hyena didn't feel like playing her mother's game anymore.

The Matriarch's eyes narrowed, but she remained silent. It wasn't over just yet. Just because she didn't use firearms… didn't mean her guards didn't. And she could see one of her guards sneaking towards Blank's flank, submachinegun in her paw. The guardswoman likely wouldn't be able to kill Blank, but it would give the Matriarch the upper paw once more.

Unfortunately for both the Matriarch and the guardswoman, Blank saw her out of the corner of her eye as well. Just as the guardswoman popped out of cover, Blank had already brought her weapon to bear onto the enemy hyena. The Matriarch didn't even have time to shout out a warning before Blank pulled the trigger four times.

The guardswoman caught two bullets to her chest, one to her neck, and the last one shot out her eye. The force of the impacts caused her to stumble and drop her weapon. She let out a gurgled cry as she began to lose blood at a rapid pace. Somehow, the bullet that went into her eye didn't make it all the way through her skull. She was still alive, but the bleeding would take her soon enough.

The Matriarch let out another roar as she pulled a throwing knife from one of the many hidden sheaths on her body. She tossed the blade at a frightening speed, luckily her throwing arm hadn't been the one injured. The knife flew true and knocked the pistol out of Blank's paw. A second knife came whizzing at Blank only a few seconds later, but those few seconds were all the rogue needed to orient herself and catch the blade.

Blank threw the knife back before her mother could grab another one. With one of her arms broken, the Matriarch had to grab one knife, throw it, and _then_ grab another to throw. It slowed her down enough to the point where Blank was able to catch her blades and throw them back without her being able to do anything.

The blade rammed itself into the Matriarch's chest, causing her to drop the knife she had just managed to grab, and stumble backwards. Blank pulled out her second pistol, Wolfgang's Desert Eagle, but before she could pull the trigger, her ear flicked.

Blank whirled around and fired at the hyena trying to sneak up on her with a knife in her paw. The enormous handcannon kicked hard, nearly flying out of the rogue's paw, but the huge bullet smashed right through the enemy hyena's head. The hyena was knocked off her feet and slammed against the ground, splattering the concrete floor with blood and brain matter.

Blank whirled back around and fired at her mother before she could try and get into cover. The Matriarch dove out of the way, but the huge round collided with her shoulder, practically tearing it to pieces. Luckily it was the shoulder attached to the arm Blank had already broken.

The Matriarch made it into cover, sliding across the floor on her belly, trying to avoid another bullet. Unfortunately, Blank's round made it into the larger hyena's leg, tearing muscles and tendons, making it impossible for the Matriarch to stand. So she was forced to lie there as she struggled to get another knife out of its hidden sheath to try and defend herself. Her only saving grace was that Blank would have to come to her…

"It's over, _mother_ ," Blank spat. "Even if I were to just leave you here, you'd bleed out in a matter of hours. Why not accept death with whatever sort of dignity you have left? I beat you, it's _over!_ "

Blank couldn't resist taunting her beaten mother as she slowly approached the fallen hyena, twirling the Desert Eagle around one of her fingers. She stepped around the dead bodies of snakes, but walked right over the broken glass, her combat boots still protecting her paw pads.

Predictably, the moment she rounded the steel bottom of one of the cages the Matriarch was using for cover, she launched a knife at Blank. But from the larger hyena's laying position, she couldn't gather the force necessary for the knife to even make a dent in the smaller hyena's flak jacket. The knife just bounced right off, not even slicing through the outermost layer of the fabric.

The Matriarch's breathing slowed, fear once again rising in her eyes as Blank brought Wolfgang's Desert Eagle to bear on her head. " _I love you,_ " the Matriarch all but whispered. Whether it was the truth, or just a last ditch effort to save herself… Blank didn't care.

" _And I hate you,_ " Blank hissed right back.

 _ **Bang!**_

The Matriarch shut her eyes, waiting for the deathblow. But it never came. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked up at her daughter to see the smaller hyena's eyes wide with surprise.

Blank slowly turned her head, already feeling the blood leaking from the wound, dripping over one of her eyes. It was slowly blinding her as static filled her mind. But even through the static and the red liquid, she could see a wolverine standing right beside her, pistol still raised at her head.

… _ **Static…**_

… _ **Static…**_

 _X?_

XXX

 **There we go! Finally, the twist I've been building to for so goddamn long! It feels like it's been** _ **ages**_ **since I even** _ **mentioned**_ **X! Probably because it's been at least a full year, I think, since Blank first recruited Judy to decipher the message X had sent her. This opens the door to** _ **so**_ **many questions! But I'll let you ask them, instead of posing them myself.**

 **Because there's only one important question that I have to ask. What's gonna happen next?! I really hope this chapter was worth the wait, and I'll do my absolute** _ **damnest**_ **to try and get the next one out at a reasonable time. I just took my final for my first summer session class yesterday, so I'm starting my second summer session class on Monday. Hopefully it won't be too stressful, and hopefully it'll leave plenty of time for me to keep writing! Stay tuned until next time to find out what happens next!**


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